Afterlife
by Aomine
Summary: A story that follows the life of the Kuroko no Basuke cast after the death of their beloved sport. / AU, Boys Love. Based on KuroBas Character Bible.
1. I

**Afterlife**

**Initiate:** _Kuroko, Tetsuya._

He wasn't sure why, but today was the day he realized how far he's come. From his years in Teikou Middle School to his glorious journey through Seirin High, it wasn't until now that the feeling of accomplishment really kicked in. Sure, he had basked in that similar sensation before but that was before a scary thing called 'life' happened. He knew full well that basketball wasn't something he could do for the rest of his life, but it wasn't until graduation day that the situation dawned on him. He, like most, couldn't grasp the concept that he'd have to learn to let go because it sure as hell didn't work out the first time. Hating what you love hurts, but letting go hurts more. He knew that no matter how skilled you are, the world can always find a way to shut you down and push you into the direction it has set out for you.

The occupation he had right now wasn't initially what he had planned out nor did he see himself in this predicament, but then again, he never really thought of what he wanted to be. He was the type to think of things when it came to that point in is life and when that happened, he knew this job was meant to be for him.

Waking up at six am every weekday isn't what most people would like to do, but for Kuroko, it was the ungodly hour that seemed the best. Even though his facial expression or body language didn't display it, he was really happy and excited for the new day ahead. It was a Monday, a day that started the working week; Kuroko slid casually out of bed. He then shuffled to the bathroom, turning on any source of light on his way before stripping out of his shirt. Kuroko placed his shirt inside the laundry basket before residing in front of the bathroom sink. He let out a small yawn as his hand subconsciously turned open the cold tap. The water ran shamelessly down the drain before he dipped his hands underneath the cool sensation.

He bent over the sink, splashing the water quickly onto his face in attempts to completely wake himself up. He did that a couple more times, washing the back of his neck roughly as well before turning off the tap. The water trickled off his chin and down his chest as he reached for a towel. He dried himself, damping the tips of his hair that might've gotten wet. Once dried, he looked at his face in the mirror—his cheeks were rosy pink as his eyes were wide; he knew that he would look as bright as he did in that moment for the rest of the day. He slipped on a clean singlet before sighing in content.

_Arf!_ _Arf, arf, rrrr—arf! _

Kuroko's attention quickly diverted downwards to the little canine that dared not go into the bathroom. The Shadow smiled fondly at Nigou who returned the gesture with happy eyes. Kuroko hung the towel around his shoulders, turned off the lights before heading into the living room. Seirin's ex-mascot followed along, barking in some strange excitement. Kuroko couldn't help but chuckle lightly at Nigou's behaviour as he walked over to the coffee table to retrieve the remote for the television. He turned it on, not really caring what program was viewing before shuffling over to the kitchen. The 6 AM news was showing but his mind couldn't register the words the new reporter as he had his concentration elsewhere.

He felt Nigou watching him as Kuroko entered multi-task mode; he turned on the kettle, placed a couple of breads in the toaster, took out Nigou's breakfast and filled up the canine's bowl. The second the bowl touched the kitchen floor, Nigou pounced onto it—chomping down those delicious doggy food. Kuroko smiled, knelt down in front of Nigou before caressing his fur with a single digit.

"_Footage of the brawl near a night club has been caught on CCTV." _

The kettle steamed furiously, causing the Shadow to ascend upright. He scooped out teaspoon worth of coffee and sugar, setting those ingredients into the same mug before pouring a reasonable amount of hot water into it, adding milk when he thought it was appropriate. He brought the steamy mug up to his lips before taking a small sip of that bitter-sweet substance. The toast had already popped out by then, but Kuroko didn't bother to pick it out as he found himself drawing closer to the television, mug in hand.

"_The young adults that have started the fight appeared to be armed with weapons. Police were on the scene but due to the distance of the nearest police station to the location of the violence, police who were already patrolling the area were only available before back up could arrive."_

Kuroko sat on the arm of the sofa as Nigou eventually joined him, "This world—it's scary, isn't it?" Nigou barked in agreement as the Shadow frowned at the graphic images of the brawl that happened last night. People clinging onto people in hopes to injure the other party; officers that seemed to be only travelling in small groups desperately were trying to stop the violence before someone gets hurt or worst. Kuroko placed the mug onto the coffee table before picking up Nigou into his arms.

"_The police officers were terrifyingly outnumbered as bystanders watched in fear. But one young male officer did not show any types of backing down, even when the odds were stacked against him. He did not seem to stand out at first, but when one brawler laid his hands on a female bystander, the young male officer flung into action. He is yet to be apprehended for his commendable and brave actions that night. It is said that he managed to stop the fight before back up could arrive to arrest the offenders. We are also told that the officer took a few cuts from the weapons the offenders had. Here's CCTV footage of the officer."_

The screen cut to the CCTV footage, showing exactly what the new reporter had thoroughly described. Kuroko watched in major awe of the poorly captured video. Nigou suddenly barked loudly the second the young male officer drew almost near the surveillance camera. The canine's reaction caused Kuroko to lean forward, as if to see who _exactly_ the officer was. He couldn't grasp a clear concept of who it might be but the longer he stared, the better his mind could sketch out an image.

"Aomine-kun?"

死後の世界

**Initiate**: _Kagami, Taiga. Aomine, Daiki._

A loud ringing noise echoed within one of the two bedrooms in this modernised, city-suburban apartment. A groan, followed by a yawn could be heard as the male whose voice could be vaguely heard to anyone who bothered to listen sat upright, eyes closed and shirtless. The palm of his hand slammed carelessly against the alarm clock that resided next to the bed, atop the nicely, furnished drawer. His eyes opened, sneaking a glance at the digital time which displayed 6 AM, exactly. He then sighed, rubbing his face before leaning back onto the bed's frame.

Turning his head opposite to the alarm clock, he reached his hand out, swaying his hand aimlessly at the empty space besides him before his dry lips parted to speak in a tired tone, "Oi, Daiki. Are you alive?"

Kagami patiently waited for a response in which he knows full well he won't get anytime soon. His body slumped as he wanted to go back to sleep, but he found it to be close to impossible. Once he's up, he's up and no amount of pills could change that… probably. Kagami sighed in an obviously exaggerated way as his upper body slid to the side that was once occupied by Aomine, who is presumably on the floor at that very moment. He then crawled across the other side of the bed, peering over the edge and _bingo_—Aomine was in fact on the floor.

"Oi, are you alive? Wait, never mind. Saw you breathing." Kagami murmured. Aomine, flat on his stomach, groaned before turning his head to the side to face the red-headed fighter*, "Should I bother asking why you're on the floor again?"  
"Shut up, Taiga. I'm tired. Late night last night." Aomine quickly informed, lifting himself up onto his knees. He crawled up the bed's foundations before lying comfortably on top of Kagami, placing all his weight on him. Kagami let out a groan of annoyance as his breathings' been restricted, but he wasn't about to complain.

"What did you do last night?" The red-head asked, not bothering to listen to the answer the Ace had to say.  
"Well, last night I had to patrol mother-fucking shut up." Aomine muttered as his eyes refused to remain open.  
"Jeez. I preferred it when you were just arrogant." Kagami complained, trying to shake off the extra-weight.  
"And I preferred it when you shut up."  
"Whatever." The two of them hushed into silence after that; still in the same, strange position. It didn't take long for Aomine to fall deep into sleep, but as for Kagami—let's just say that it's hard for him to breath, let alone sleep.

This casual atmosphere between these two—it was unthinkable for such things to exist seven years ago. Back then, these two were always at each other's throats when it came to being the best but now, their relationship mimics one of a _best friend_. It was certainly peculiar and not something one would think of for these two—heck, they didn't even know that such arrangements could be made, but it happened. And these two didn't have much room to complain. Their occupations and lifestyle might have something to do with why they're living together in a (purely?) platonic way, but ultimately they've decided this outcome.

Most of their close friends don't even know about this—after graduation from their final high school year, it was thought that they've all went their separate ways, but fate's got different plans installed for them. Before they knew it, their futures have intertwined—and not just Aomine and Kagami's. All lines cross paths eventually—some sooner than others. But once they have, decisions and complications are sure to arise, whilst long walks down memory lane and a little game called "comparison".

"Daiki, it's that point of time where either gravity's a bitch or you've just gained weight." Kagami wheezed out, receiving a sharp pinch to his side.  
"I'm too fit to gain weight." Aomine lazily corrected, sitting upright and letting Kagami breathe easily once more.  
"And there's the arrogance. Welcome back, hole of the arse." The red-head joked with a large dose of sarcasm, also sitting up.  
"It's true but. You can't call me arrogant when my body shows the results of a fit man." The younger male sighed, sliding off the bed.  
"I'll own you in an arm-wrestle any day—" Kagami tried to stop himself from saying anymore before it was too late to fade his sentence away.

Aomine noticed this but did nothing other than a mere smile. The Ace shuffled over to the switch in his bedroom, turning on the light, causing Kagami and himself to squint briefly before their eyes adjusted. Kagami watched the other navigate around the room, picking out clothes that seemed to resemble some sort of uniform before he headed towards the door, stopping in his tracks for just a second. He looked over his shoulder slightly as Kagami sat in the middle of Aomine's bed with a pained expression that made it seemed as though he was waiting for something.

"The only one who can beat me is me."

黒子のバスケ © 藤巻 忠俊  
Kuroko No Basuke**  
**


	2. II

**Afterlife**

"Kuroko-sensei!"

The sun seeped nicely through the glass wall that looked out onto the tiled pavement and grass area of the local pre-school. There were approximately twelve younglings aging from three to four and a half, running around, playing with toys, sleeping and doing something artsy. The entire room was small, but it was big enough to fit a front counter that was parallel the glass wall, a kitchen, play area slash sleep area and a narrow hall way where bags were placed and the exit. Kuroko was the only one supervising the children and most would find this job of a pre-school teacher to be daunting; dealing with loud noises, crying and fights. But for the Shadow, his heart was settled with content.

Young lives really fascinated him; they know nothing of this ugly yet beautiful world and he had the honour of teaching them the right way of life. With society on the brink of destruction with violence and drugs, there was always hope that the generation he cared for will clean up the mistakes of the past generations. He truly believed in that conviction, so he tried his best to steer those children into a better education, even if most can't speak properly.

Kuroko leaned against the front counter, watching the children go about their own activities. He brought Nigou along this time, after getting permission slips from their parents to have a dog in the premises. He washed the little ex-mascot several times and even put a barrier around the kitchen area to not only stop Nigou from possibly contaminating the food, but to keep the children from sharp objects.

"Kuroko-sensei~!"

The said person looked down to the ground to see one of the children tugging at his pants. He smiled, bending down to pick her up in his arms, "What's wrong, Airi-chan?" He asked as he seated her down on top of the front counter. She gave a longing look at another child before replying.  
"Today's Shiro-kun's birthday!" She informed. Kuroko took a glance at his calendar, and the date circled there with a side note confirmed it.  
"Yes, it is today. We should have a party then, shouldn't we?" Kuroko suggested. Airi nodded in excitement as Kuroko reached for the phone, "We should keep this as a secret but, so Shiro-kun gets a surprise, right?" He then added, dialling in a phone number.

"How do we do that, Kuroko-sensei? It will be hard to do that when Shiro-kun's here." Airi sighed, crossing her small arms over her chest.  
"Don't worry; sensei will think of something…" He assured, holding the wireless telephone between his ear and his shoulder. He used his hands to pick up Airi and place her back down onto the ground, "Now go off and play. Make sure you keep quiet though, Airi-chan!" She giggled and nodded before following Kuroko's request.

He picked the phone from between his ear and shoulder as he waited for the other party to pick up the line.  
"Hello, Atsushi Patisseries, how can I help you?" Spoke a vaguely familiar voice after a couple of rings rang out.  
"Murisakibara-kun?" Kuroko asked as he heard a slurred but sober voice.  
"Ah, Kurochin. What can I do for you?" Murisakibara asked, sounding a little surprised that Kuroko had called him.  
"I'm going to need a cake—" Kuroko found himself being cut off as he heard another voice in Murisakibara's line.

"_Is that Kurokocchi? Hey, let me speak to him!" _  
"Kise-kun?" The Shadow spoke subconsciously as he listened involuntarily at the scuffle he assumed Murisakibara and Kise were having over the phone.  
"_No; he's calling because he needs me, not you. Go off and fly your planes like a good boy now."_ He heard the pastry chef mumble.

'_Fly your planes?'_ Kuroko thought to himself, '_was Kise a pilot?'_ He couldn't help but feel a little hurt that he didn't know about this. Heck, he only found out about his ex-team mate's occupations today—for example, he presumably saw Aomine as a police officer and just now, he learnt that Murisakibara's a pastry chef and that Kise was possibly a pilot. Did everyone else stay in touch after high school? Was he the only one left out of the loop? Was it just because he was an unwanted shadow whose light no longer existed? He let out a sigh at those thoughts, deciding to think about them later when he had enough time.

"Kurochin, are you still there?" Murisakibara spoke after the scuffle calmed down, "Sorry that Kisechin's like that." He unusually apologised.  
"No, it's fine and yes. I'm still here." Kuroko blankly replied, showing some sort of sympathetic face, even if the other couldn't see it.  
"You said you needed a cake? What kind of cake?" He asked. He sounded happy—maybe because he enjoyed what he was doing.  
"Please hold on for one second." Kuroko requested as he placed the phone back between his ear and his shoulder. He pulled out a large black folder from the shelf behind him before placing it down on the counter. He flipped through the pages which contained information about the children in his pre-school. After skimming through, he came across Shiro's file.

He looked at all the things he liked, disliked and what he was allergic to so that he can ensure that the child will like the cake and will not need any medical attention. Grabbing a piece of paper and pen from nearby, he then took note of what the other children were allergic to so that they can also have some cake, "Murisakibara-kun?" He said as his eyes read the several files.  
"Yeah, Kurochin? Are you ready to order?" He asked in which the Shadow replied with a happy yes.

死後の世界

**Initiate: **_Midorima, Shintaro._

"So, if you just take your vitamins as I prescribed them, you will be fine." A strong and firm voice said.  
"Ah, thank you, sensei!" Replied a fragile, old lady. She placed the vitamins in her purse before the doctor known as Midorima, lent out his hand, helping her off the patient's check-up bed, "Oh! What a gentleman, you are." She complimented as she landed on the floor, with no such stagger in her step.  
"It's only necessary." He said, sounding a little bashful, "Now, please take care of your health."  
"I will, I will." She ensured with a chuckle. She then waddled out of the room as the Fate Follower filled in some paperwork regarding the old lady.

After that was completed and placed down on a nearby counter, he leaned upon the bed, running a hand through his hair. He took a glance at the clock—_twenty more minutes until my break_, he mentally noted. Just as he was about to lie flat on his back, the door opened, revealing a young nurse.  
"Can I help you?" Midorima asked, standing properly. The nurse seemed shy as a blush crept upon her cheeks.  
"U-um… I know that you're busy and that you're about to go on your break soon but… T-there's a patient here who's really insistent on seeing you."

"Who is this?" He asked, honestly curious, after the nurse had informed him.  
"They wouldn't say. They just repeatedly asked for you, causing a disturbance." She said, "I thought I should tell you before calling security—"  
"Don't. Bring them in." Midorima requested, "But why do I get a bad feeling about this..?" He then murmured to himself.  
"What was that?" The nurse asked, in hopes that Midorima would repeat himself as some sort of excuse to hear him talk.  
"Ah, nothing." He casually lied.  
"Then, I'll be bringing them in right now." And with that, the nurse left the room.

Midorima yawned, cracking his knuckles before leaning against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest. After a few seconds, the door opened. His jaw dropped slightly as he saw two familiar faces. He sighed before speaking, "Aomine and Kagami. What are you doing here, causing a disturbance in my work place?" He calmly asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Aomine scoffed, glancing at Kagami who snarled back.  
"Hey, he's the one dragging me here." Aomine cocked his head over towards Kagami, "I'm s'posed to be at work by now. So is he. But we're here instead."  
"Yeah, that's because you could die any second now." The red-head sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Jeez, I'm fine!" Aomine noted, "It stopped bleeding ages ago; no big deal." Midorima raised an eyebrow.  
"But you were staggering all the way here; meaning you can barely walk with the damage." Kagami growled. Aomine rolled his eyes.  
"Pssh—they were fine last night—_I _was fine last night. So I don't see why you gotta act all caring and shit."  
"You didn't even wash it properly. Don't you feel disgusting? Plus, you even got bruises."  
"They were from _you_. I was completely bruise-free until you came onto—"

"Excuse me." Midorima cut in their conversation, unsure of what exactly they were talking about, "But… What exactly _is_ your relationship with each other?"

Kagami and Aomine looked at one another before looking at the green-haired doctor and then back at each other. Midorima raised his eyebrow once more before the two Aces looked at him in shock and denial of what Midorima _might_ be thinking.  
"No-no-no-no-no! It's not what you think." Kagami quickly defended as Midorima tried to hide a smile.  
"Yeah—we just… We just live together which is why he saw all of my injuries!" Aomine looked to the side, scratching the back of his head, "And when I went to take a shower, he told me I had to come here."

"So Kagami watches you as you shower?" Midorima asked, knowing full well that wasn't the case. He just wanted to see their reaction.  
"No! Oh gosh, no. It was just a coincidence that we both needed to use the bathroom at the same time, right, Taiga?" Aomine nudged the red-head who nodded furiously as if to confirm his statement. Midorima looked at them in disbelief, but really did believe them inside.  
"Oh, so you're both on a first name basis?" He then noted, causing the Aces' shoulders to slump.

The two of them tried to explain their situation on _that_ one, without knowledge that they also had the right to _not _say anything. _They really are alike, huh? _Midorima mentally said before standing upright to relieve them from this embarrassing event.

"Aomine." The green-haired doctor said firmly, causing the two of them to shut their mouths, "Take off your shirt." He commanded, receiving a confused look, "Your injuries. Let me see what Kagami has been fussing all about." He then cleared up as Midorima gestured him to take a seat on the check-up bed.

黒子のバスケ © 藤巻 忠俊  
Kuroko No Basuke


	3. III

**Afterlife**

"Kurokocchi~!"

The doorbell of the pre-school rang out in an uneven rhythm, possibly to show the guests' excitement. Kuroko looked down the narrow hallway to where the sound was coming from before glancing at the kids; they seemed in a safe state and there seemed to be no trouble or fights between the children. Nodding once to himself, he left his place from behind the counter before walking down the hallway, through the shoes, toys and bags that lied across the floor and on the hooks to get to the door. He opened it after unlocking the several locks the door had to reveal a cheerful personality that is Kise Ryouta.

"Kise-kun? Why are you here?" Kuroko asked as the copycat let himself in. In his hands, he held the cake that Kuroko had ordered.  
"Eh? I'm here to give you your cake! Baracchi wanted me to be useful so he let me deliver it instead." Kise said, looking around the hallway.  
"Or maybe he just wanted you to leave." Kuroko sighed, placing his hands underneath the box that held the cake.  
"Is that so?" Kise asked, chuckling lightly to himself, "Anyways, who's the birthday boy—"

Kuroko quickly placed one of his hands over Kise's mouth as the copycat looked surprised at this gesture, "It's a secret. Please don't ruin it." Kuroko requested as their hands that held the box touched from underneath. Kise nodded his head slowly before Kuroko removed his hand.  
"Here, let me carry this." Kise whispered, taking the box in his own two hands, "And sorry." He apologized soon after.  
"Wait here, please while I take the children outside to play." Kuroko then said. Kise obliged.

"Children, it's a lovely day outside. Why don't we go and play out there for a while?" Kuroko suggested, opening the door at the end of the glass wall. The kids squealed in excitement as they ran through the door and onto the soft, harmless grass. There was a shade over the stop of the area as well as a strong, steel fence. A sand pit, bouncy balls and toys scattered around the grass as there was also a few small table and chairs for those who enjoyed arts and crafts. The children didn't take long to settle into the new but familiar environment.

Kise watched from an angle as he admired Kuroko and his attitude towards children. He, in a way, envied the kids—they get to see him every week day and get the pleasure of being treated kindly to. He continued to watch as Kuroko knelt before Nigou, picking him up but still crouching down. The canine and the Shadow's matching eyes locked onto each other.  
"Please take care of the children for me, okay Nigou?" Kuroko requested, ending that sentence with a smile. Nigou barked cheerfully and with that kind of answer, Kuroko let Nigou down, rose to his feet and watched on as Nigou headed outside to play with the children.

Kuroko closed the door behind Nigou before closing the blinds on the glass wall so that the children couldn't see what was happening inside the room. He wanted the birthday surprise to be kept a secret until the last minute.

"Kise-kun?" He called out to the blonde in a tone that said it was alright to come out as he headed to the front counter that had three computer screens in one corner of the counter. The computer screens acted as surveillance cameras so that he can see what's happening outside—he had all angles covered so that predators or strangers wouldn't dare to harm the children. Plus, Nigou was extremely reliable—he wouldn't let the children get hurt. Sometimes, the parents wouldn't mind it if Nigou took care of the children when Kuroko wasn't around.

"Yep, I'm here." Kise replied, walking into the central area of the premises. He placed the cake on top of a clear space on the counter before scanning the room that was filled with every child's dream. This place—it was small but had practically everything a kid would want. Kise leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched Kuroko get some supplies in the kitchen. The blonde chuckled to himself as the Shadow attempted to reach a box on the top shelf.

The pre-school teacher was on his tippy-toes, swinging his right hand as he could just barely touch the box he needed. Kise watched on in amusement as the determined Kuroko showed no signs of giving up. Kuroko sighed before placing one of his knees onto the kitchen counter to up his height; from Kise's perspective, the smaller male looked like he was in an unstable position. The copycat shook his head, smiling before walking up from behind the Shadow.

"Do you need any help?" Kise asked, folding his arms once more and cocking his head to the side, "You'll fall, you know?"  
"I'll be fine." Kuroko said, managing to get both of his knees up on the counter. The Shadow wobbled a bit, causing Kise to extend his arms out in reflex, just in case he fell. But Kuroko steadied himself as he held onto the handles of the top drawer. One hand continued to hold tightly on the handle as the other reached out again to grab a hold of the box.  
"You sure are determined. What's in it anyways?" Kise asked just as Kuroko managed to get his fingers around the corners of the object.

"It has balloons, and confetti. As well as banners and—"  
"H-Hey! Watch out!"

死後の世界

"He said twenty minutes! It _has_ been twenty minutes! Like, twenty minutes ago!" Aomine growled. He sat on the check-up bed only in his boxers—his shirt and pants discarded by his side. His body was lightly stinging with anti-septic as he felt his wounds pulsate under pressure. A cut over his right pectoral, a light gash across his left side, his right thigh was decorated with a clean wound as bruises scattered his body.  
"Look, I'm sure he's just doing—uh, he's prolly just…" Kagami tried to find some explanation as to where Midorima might have gone but doubt shrouded his mind causing hesitation in his words.

"Argh! What kind of doctor is _he_, leaving his patient just like that? I'm in pain!" Aomine complained as he grabbed his hair within his fingers.  
"Well, we did just sorta barge in here…" Kagami sighed, scratching the back of his head, "He might've just needed to attend to someone else?"  
"Oi, Taiga. Since when did you get so soft?" Aomine questioned, raising an eyebrow. Kagami gave a flustered expression in which Aomine chuckled to.  
"Not gonna tell you." The red-head suddenly jabbed the Ace in the rib. Aomine growled.  
"So you're admitting that you're soft—"

The door creaked open causing the two Aces to freeze on the spot. Kagami felt Aomine read to burst out in anger but he nudge him as a young nurse entered the room. Aomine cocked his head to the side as Kagami raised an eyebrow; the nurse seeming lost for words—not that she had anything to say.

"W-what are you doing here?" She asked after a long full minute of pure silence.  
"Where's… Where's Midorima?" Kagami cautiously asked—the situation seemed dangerous as the nurse looked like she could scream at any second.  
"Mido… Ah, you mean Midorima-sensei?" She clarified as the Aces nodded in unison, "He went on his lunch break and won't be back for a while."  
"For a while—do you know what time he'll be back?" Aomine took in a deep breath, compressing his rage.  
"Well, his break started at twelve… So he won't be back until one." She informed casually.

Aomine closed his eyes, hopping off the check-up bed as his body emitted a fearsome and beastly aura, "I'm… going… to… _kill_… him..!"

Aomine prepared to lunge out the door, causing the nurse's eyes to widen before she spoke, "U-um, sir?"  
Kagami grabbed onto the Ace's arm, yanking him backwards into his chest, "Daiki, you might wanna put some clothes on first." He whispered.  
"I-I'll be taking my leave then!" The nurse quickly dismissed herself before heading out of Midorima's practice. Kagami let his grasp go on Aomine as the Ace felt incredibly embarrassed.

死後の世界

"Kise-kun?"

A box, streamers, banners, confetti; all items one would imagine a birthday would have scattered all over the kitchen floor. Strong arms constricted Kuroko's waist, preventing the smaller body from falling onto the cold, hard tiles. Kuroko had slipped off his unsteady position and Kise had instinctively caught him. The blond felt his heart tighten as he was thankful that the Shadow remained safe from harm but their stance remained stationed. Eyes locked upon eyes as a droplet of sweat trickled down Kise's face.

"Kise-kun?" Kuroko repeated. The copycat shook his head as if to break away the strange trance the Shadow had engaged him in.  
"Ah, sorry." He apologized, unsure of what he even meant by that as he helped Kuroko stand on his own two feet. Kise scratched the back of his head as Kuroko bent down to pick up the items that scattered all over the floor. Kise mimicked the smaller figure, placing the stuff back into the box.  
"Oh and… thank you." Kuroko murmured, averting his eyes to the side.  
"Why're you thanking me, Kurokocchi?" The copycat asked, biting his bottom lip a little.

Kuroko didn't answer—he just continued to clean up the area until everything was picked up. He stood up after that, holding the box against his chest. He didn't show it across his face but he was embarrassed; embarrassed that he fell and embarrassed that Kise _told him so_. On top of that, he landed in the arms of another man. Back in high school, he wouldn't have minded it. But being the age that he currently is and having seen the world beyond those school walls, pride has never been such a big factor in his attitude until now.

The Shadow walked into the center of the room, placing the box on the floor before tidying up the room. He picked up all the toys that have been discarded by the children, placing them back into a toy chest in one of the corners of the room, before parting his lips to speak, "Kise-kun? Do you mind taking all the tables and placing them together to make all one big one?"  
"Ah, sure." Kise said, obligating to Kuroko's request, "Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask…"  
"Hmm?"  
"Did you see Aominecchi on the news this morning?"

_So that really was him?_ Kuroko thought to himself as he walked over to the box with all the party essentials, "He seemed like a hero."  
"Really? I thought it was stupid." Kise absent-mindedly said as he assembled the tables together.  
"I see." Kuroko sounded a little sad as he grabbed a banner that said, _happy birthday._  
"Yeah—I mean, Kagamicchi and Midorimacchi also are heroes in their own way but I don't think they'd do something as rash as Aominecchi did— that's something a _Tiger_ would do. And how can he save lives if he's strongly outnumbered and put his life on that much of a risk? Sure, he's does that on a daily basis but seriously, what if someone had a gun? Or attacked him from a blind-spot? He's really careless and that's coming from_ me—_ah? Kurokocchi?"

The said male stood with his back towards Kise, weakly holding the banner in his hands. Kise sensed a change in mood and atmosphere surrounding the Shadow. He might be a little dense at times but he was smart enough to know that he might've touched a sensitive nerve. Kise thought about calling out Kuroko's name again but he felt as though he's entered territory that he had no idea existed.

"Ah—I think I'll go check up on how the kids are doing." Kise suggested after placing the tables as Kuroko requested. The sound of the children laughing and playing about was briefly heard as Kise opened the glass door but was suddenly silenced as it closed one more. The rustling of the blinds slowly quieted down as Kuroko turned around before leaning against the counter and letting out a sigh.

_Am I the only one who knows nothing? Am I the only one not making a difference? I thought we all went our separate ways—and Kise-kun whose barely spent time with Kagami-kun knows more about him now than I do, a person who's spent their entire high school life with him. Could it be just coincidence—have they met when doing their jobs? Kise-kun said that Aomine-kun, Kagami-kun and Midorima-kun are 'heroes'… Does that mean they do one of the three of the most life-saving jobs? Does that mean they're making a difference? Am I the only one doing a useless thing in my life? _

Kuroko's mind flooded with a lot of questions he wish he had the answers to. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened to him but it was the first time where he was afraid of what the answers might be, no matter how desperate he wanted to know. Something about not knowing scared him—it had that feeling of when someone you loved was leaving you; a cold, lonely emotion.

_Did they just want to cut ties with me? Or was I the one cutting ties with them?_

黒子のバスケ © 藤巻 忠俊  
Kuroko No Basuke**  
**


	4. IV

**Afterlife**

"Hip-hip, hooray! Hip-hip, hooray!" Streamers, cheering and smiling faces was the current scene one warm Monday afternoon.

_After Kuroko thoroughly contemplated and reflected on the questions he had no answers to, he finally managed to set up the rest of the impromptu birthday party, without Kise. He fixed the chairs to the table, set out paper plates and plastic sporks; he reached into the box he retrieved earlier and scattered confetti around the floor, being generous with the troublesome party item and not minding cleaning up the mess. _

_From behind the counter, he had a small but enough amount of helium in a tank he kept in a closet underneath the counter. He pulled that out as well as a couple of balloons from the box and filled them up; bounding them by long strings and letting them float in the air freely. He was used to filling up the balloons to the point where he could avert his attention elsewhere—and that's what he did. So he talentedly filled the balloons whilst watching the surveillance cameras through the computer screens. There, he saw the children surrounding Kise, laughing and playfully attacking him. Kise had one of the children up in his arms, swinging them around as if they're on an airplane as the other children anticipated their turn. _

_Kuroko couldn't help but smile—and what Kise was doing made sense, since he was or is a pilot, from the suggestive conversation he heard over the phone with Murisakibara. The Shadow had always been good with the kids—he had always played with them, helped them and was friends with all of their parents—he was on the good side of all the people he had ever met and if he wasn't, his presence still impacted their day-to-day life choices. But seeing Kise right now as he is—so natural in personality and warmth—Kuroko felt as though all his efforts in building up his almost perfect reputation were for nothing. _

_After the Shadow finished filling up the last balloon, he still found himself looking at the screen. His eyes were very aware of what was happening, especially on the screen with the copycat on. He gazed in some nostalgic way, smiling a little every time Kise did something a little embarrassing. He let out a sigh of content before Kise looked up into one of the cameras and winking, catching Kuroko off guard. The Shadow staggered back, wondering if Kise knew he was watching from behind the counter. But he knew that was impossible—he couldn't possibly know that especially when he was sure as hell that he couldn't see from beyond the blinds. _

_He shook his head, "What's wrong with me today…?" He ran a hand through his blue dyed locks before letting out a deep breath and walking out from behind the counter. _

_After taking in the room's appearance, he thought it was the time to invite the kids along with Nigou and Kise back in. He opened the glass door and called out fondly, "Kids, would you like to come back inside? I think it's time we have something to eat, no?" Kuroko stepped outside to gather the children. He motioned Kise to take the kids back inside who followed the blond happily. The Shadow then quickly identified the birthday boy, Shiro; picking him up and placing him onto his shoulders before whispering, "I have a surprise for you, Shiro-kun."_

"You know, you could have asked for help." Kise asked. The children were seated, stuffing their faces with the cake Kuroko had ordered earlier. Kise and Kuroko supervised the two from behind the front counter, half-heartedly eating a small portion of the cake.  
"You were best outside with the kids—they seemed to take a liking to you." Kuroko complimented, jabbing his spork into the cake.  
"Really? But you're obviously better with the kids. I mean, you even set up a birthday party the day it's on. Usually, you'd think ahead about these things—oh! Which reminds me; do you _always_ call Baracchi for cakes?"

"No, actually, this is the first time. I had always thought ahead when it comes to the children's birthdays, but my mind has been wandering off lately so I didn't have the mindset to buy a cake a day earlier. So I guess that's why I called Murisakibara-kun, purely off chance. I saw his number on a flyer that had been placed on this pre-schools' mailbox and thought it might be helpful." Kuroko explained.  
"So it's fate, right? That you happened to call him and I happened to be there?" Kise asked, receiving a small chuckle from the older one.  
"I suppose so. Speaking of which, why were you there?" Kuroko asked, taking a spork-full of cake and bringing it up to his lips.

"I always visit Baracchi every Monday because that's when I have the day off from work. I work as a—I guess you could call it freelance piloting?" Kise said.  
"There's such thing as that?" Kuroko questioned as the copycat gave a sly smile.  
"I don't think so… I've been to flight school and was really into it to the point where I could fly almost any type of plane where it may be a chopper or an airplane. I'm currently employed in flying planes to different countries but thinking of changing to something more… exciting, you know?" Kise sighed, "Like maybe be one of those police people that fly the helicopters! That way, I can see Aominecchi more often."

"More often? Have you been keeping in touch with the others?" The Shadow felt a wave of slight jealousy but it wasn't enough to be obvious.  
"All off by chance. I've only really kept in touch with Baracchi and Aominecchi even though I kind of get what's happening with the others. Do you wanna know what's going on with them?" Kise offered, hoping that Kuroko would say yes. He felt this vibe that Kuroko felt left out and was willing to fill him in.  
"Uh, yeah… Sure." Kuroko nodded his head, smiling a little.

"Awesome." Kise said, "Well, I guess I'll start with Baracchi. After high school, he went off to catering school or whatever it is he went to. He really loved sweet so I guess it was only natural. He was very good in what he did and he entered a lot of competitions, coming first in all. With the prize money he won, he invested that into his own catering business, him usually doing all the work with some female staff working the counter. I happen to run into him at the supermarket one time—he is sort of hard to miss, right?" Kise joked, causing Kuroko to laugh. The copycat smiled at Kuroko's happy face since it has been a while since he's seen it.

"I haven't heard much about Akashicchi, but I heard he's a professional shougi player. And that he lives in the city, in about the same area as Midorimacchi." Kise informed, lightly scrapping the icing off the cake, "Um, what else… hmm." Kise tried to recall what other information he gained knowledge of over the past few years, "Ah, Midorimacchi's a doctor now. He's still young but he manage get a doctors' certificate or whatever in his first year as an intern. I say it's pure luck that he could achieve that but hey, it _is _Midorimacchi we're talking about here." Kise playfully bumped Kuroko on the shoulder.

"Ah, just one second, Kise-kun; I'm going to get the kids some drinks." Kuroko interrupted, stepping over the small gate and walking into the corner kitchen. He opened the fridge and produces two lots of six juice poppers, before bringing them out to the children on the seats. He opened the juice poppers from their constrictive plastics before handing them out to each child. He gave them a smile as they thanked him. Kise gazed admiringly at Kuroko before showing a neutral face as Kuroko returned back to the counter.

Time passed by since that moment on—Kuroko had learned almost everything he's missed out; Aomine and Kagami were living together and that Kagami was a fire fighter; the Generation of Miracles live in the suburban-city area which was surprisingly close in the vicinity and that Momoi worked in a modelling agency. It was a lot to take in in encounter so Kise and Kuroko exchanged phone numbers since it's bound to change in over five years or so. Kise stayed there the entire day, helping Kuroko clean the children's faces to the point where they all got picked up. All that was left was the copycat, the Shadow and an insane amount of mess.

"Thank you for helping me today. Sorry to be a bother." Kuroko thanked then apologize as the two of them got to sweep the confetti and streamers off the floor. Kise shook his head, placing his broom aside to grab all the balloons that lingered against the ceiling.  
"No, it's fine. I had a lot of fun and I got to spend the whole day with you." Kise smiled, deflating the balloon of its helium, "But it was hard work—are you always alone doing this job?" The blond then inquired, slightly worried for Kuroko's health if he does so much work and have not enough sleep.  
"Ah, there is a female worker but she called in… sick, so she'd be here tomorrow." The Shadow informed, putting Kise at some sort of ease, "You know I can handle the rest." Kuroko then said, giving Kise options if he'd want to leave or stay.

Before Kise could reply, his phone vibrated and rang, startling him and the other male, "Hello—"  
_"Where are you? Don't tell me you got lost!"_ A voice rang out, causing Kise to move his ear slightly away from the communicating device.  
"Ah… Baracchi—I'm sorry I just forgot to—"  
_"Did Kurochin pay you? That's my money, remember? You're useless."  
_"I forgot about that! I'll ask him now and I'll be there soon, okay? I'm sorry—ah? Baracchi? Hello~?"

Silence apart from the dial tone could be heard as Murisakibara hung up on the copycat. Kise stood there with a childish face as Kuroko was the first one to break the silence, "He sounded angry. You should go—but before you do, I need to pay for the cake." Kuroko had heard the others' voice through the receiver as he walked over to the front counter and retrieving a small, padlocked metal box.  
"Let me at least help you with the clean-up." Kise offered but Kuroko shook his head in protest.

"It's getting late and the traffic might be bad, so it's best you leave now." Kuroko sighed, as he unlocked the box and pulled out the correct amount of money. He then gave it to Kise before pushing the blond lightly towards the front door.  
"It sounds like you're trying to get rid of me." Kise said, chuckling a little. Kuroko stopped his pushing as the two of them stood within the narrow hallway.  
"It's not that—I just don't want you to get into trouble. Besides, you've done more than enough today and I can't impose on you like the more that I have already." Kuroko sighed as Kise turned around to face him.  
"If you're taking about you having to pay me back then forget about it." Kise smiled, cocking his head to the side whilst shoving the money in his pocket.

"No, I couldn't possibly forget about it. You've been great to the children—they like you. And you went as far as to help clean up." Kuroko noted. To a normal person, this kind of thing would be seen as common courtesy but to Kuroko, just Kise delivering the cake was enough.  
"It's only natural." The copycat shrugged his shoulders before scratching the back of his head. The Shadow sighed, clearly distressed, "L-Look, if you want to pay me back then fine. It's up to you." Kise quickly retreated.  
"I'll do anything. Just name it. It's the least I could do." Kuroko informed. Kise stood there, thinking for no longer than minute before speaking.

"Well, I guess there _is _one thing you could do to pay me back…" Kise's sentence trailed off as he playfully bit his lower lip, taking a step closer to the Shadow. Before Kuroko knew it, their lips met—he didn't even know how close Kise initially was before it was too late. The kiss wasn't chaste; in fact, it was far from that as the copycat didn't show any signs of hesitation in his actions. He slipped his tongue passed Kuroko's lips and into his mouth; the taste of sweet cake lingering inside the Shadow's system. The Shadow froze as his stomach stirred up unknown heat— it was a weird sensation he received as Kise lapped his tongue over Kuroko's. The taller male's hands locked deep into Kuroko's hair, pulling him closer as Kuroko's face fell flushed.

Kise sucked and nipped on the soft piece of organ, causing the Shadow to let out a light moan. Kuroko, in all honesty, did not know what to do nor did he know how to handle to situation—he stood there, allowing what Kise was doing with no such objections. He never lied to himself and he wasn't lying when he thought this… sort of felt _good_. The copycats' hands travelled down to Kuroko's, gesturing him to hold onto his body before Kise lifted the Shadow into his arms. Their lips never parted as their heat mixed together, creating a stuffy atmosphere.

After a few seconds, Kuroko just had to break for air as his facial expression mimicked one of a _virgin_. Kuroko's arms loosely constricted themselves around Kise's shoulders as the copycat moved them both back into the central area of the premises. He placed Kuroko down onto the counter, leaving him momentarily to turn off all the lights before returning back in front of him.  
"Kise-kun…?" Kuroko gasped out as the look in Kise's eyes looked different from his friendly ones.  
"I'm sorry, Kurokocchi." The blond apologized, placing one hand on Kuroko's face and the other on his shoulder, "I've just wanted to do this for so long…" He confessed.

Kuroko's eyes widened before softening, "How long… Is so long?"  
"Since the beginning of time."  
"That's impossible."  
"So was this."

Before Kuroko could say more, Kise had his lips pressed against his once more.

死後の世界

"I _still_ can't believe he left us like that! No warning, no nothing."  
"And you're _still_ on about that. Quit whining, you bitch."

After Midorima abandoned Kagami and Aomine to start his hour lunch, the two Aces left the hospital premises after frantically causing a disturbance once more in search for the green-haired doctor. It was clear to them after a while (and after they were escorted out) that Midorima just wasn't there so they took it upon themselves to leave. Since the two of them took a day off from their day jobs, they thought it was best that they might as well head out into town to see what normal, average people would do on a Monday. Before they knew it, the moon dawned on them and it was getting late.

"Don't call me a bitch, you bitch." Aomine growled, pushing Kagami off the footpath and onto the naked road. Kagami rolled his eyes, walking back onto the path before grounding his teeth.  
"I can call you whatever the hell I want, bitch." The red-head then retorted, "Besides, it sounds like you got stood up or something."  
"Pssh, it's not like we're going out." Aomine stated, folding his arms over his chest.  
"Then stop with the '_Oh, that bastard left me!' _crap. It's been hours so just build a bridge and get over it." Kagami groaned.  
"No! What if I _don't_ want to get over it?" Aomine immaturely asked, making his walking pace a little faster than Kagami's.

"What are you, his girlfriend?" Kagami sighed, rubbing his temples.  
"If I was, which I'm _not_, then he'd NEVER, I repeat, NEVER would stand me up." Aomine hypothetically stated as Kagami tried to supress a laugh.  
"That seems just about right since the only one who can stand you up is you." He then joked. Aomine nodded in agreement.

"Oh yeah," Aomine suddenly said after a few moments of silence, "I'm hungry. I just forgot."  
"I was just about to say the exact same thing." Kagami blankly said, "Great minds think alike, right?"  
"That would be true if you _had_ a mind." The Ace seriously said.  
"You..! You bastard!" Kagami growled, clinging onto the side of Aomine's shirt.  
"Look, there's a café. Let's go raid their menu." Aomine suggested, jogging towards his destination.  
"Oi! Ignoring me—you..! Hey!" Kagami chased after the prodigy, clearly annoyed.

黒子のバスケ © 藤巻 忠俊  
Kuroko No Basuke


	5. V

**Afterlife**

A wave of warmth brushed against their skin as Aomine and Kagami entered the café. It was close to being empty as the sound of dishes against dishes could be heard beyond the front counter. There were a lot of seats but barely enough people to fill them as the bell rang, indicating their arrival. The place was very homey as the interior was built by bricks—only one electrical light could be seen. A large amount of candles were scattered around the wall in a safe distance away from customers choosing to sit at a booth as the atmosphere read as friendly. Kagami couldn't help but feel something familiar, like a familiar presence but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"I feel so out of place." Kagami surprisingly said as _feeling out of place_ wasn't something he would usually say. Aomine found himself nodding. The two of them, as if on cue, walked through the neatly positioned rows of tables and chairs as they made their way to the front counter. The dark-skinned ace leaned against the counter, tapping his fingers against the finely polished wood as the other stood with his arms across his chest. The sound of the tap squeaking shut was then heard, followed by footsteps drawing near. Aomine readjusted his position to see who would emerge behind the brick wall as Kagami's eyebrows narrowed.

"Sorry folks," A voice called out as the ace stood up right next to Kagami, "But we're closed for to…day..?" The voice trailed off as the body that spoke stood dumbfounded in front of the two Aces. Kagami's unknown feeling was finally attached to a familiar face.  
"Kiyoshi-sempai?" Kagami called out as his eyes widened a little.

死後の世界

"…And _so_, I was like 'Oh _sure_. Go home! I can close—_hic_—I can close up for you! She's _way_ more important that this lousy excuse of a caf—_hic_—café'."

Shutters closed, door locked; Kagami and Aomine sat comfortably in a corner booth as they watched Kiyoshi drink his heart out across from them. Late night services of pizza delivery were what the three of them settled for dinner as hidden alcohol accompanied their meal. It must have been a little over eleven pm by now as the candles reached half point of their wax. Kagami leaned his head against the brick wall as Aomine tried to look like he was interested in Kiyoshi's drunken ramblings about his shitty life. The red-heads' eyes slowly came close to closing but after a small nudge from his booth buddy, he yawned and sat upright again.

"I only ever _took_ this job to get close to him! Now, I am full of regret! He only works part—_hic_—part time so what's the point of that!?"

Kiyoshi took a deep swig out of the glass bottle, gulping down every last drop of that beverage. He then violently slammed it onto the table, startling the other two before abruptly rising to his feet, "I'm gonna get another drink."  
"No-no-no-no-no!" Aomine and Kagami pleaded, waving their hands out, partially standing up as if to amplify their words. Kiyoshi cocked his head to the side, mouthing an 'okay' as he sat back down, calming the Aces' minds. They reclaimed their seat as they both let out a sigh.  
"Sempai, did you really like Hyuga-sempai that much?" Kagami found himself asking soon after, not fazed by the fact of his sempai's sexuality.

The Iron Heart slumped, "Yeah. But he's married—couple years now. So, what's it matter how I feel? What does it matter?!" he screamed, chucking a light fit.  
Kagami's eyebrows narrowed as this wasn't the Kiyoshi he came to remember. Sure, he's changed too in some aspects, but he really couldn't see a side of the older one from back then, at least when he's intoxicated. It kind of made him think—has Kiyoshi been so strong for so long to the point where the Iron Heart finally cracked?

"You know, you kids are still young—" Kiyoshi suddenly began as he jabbed a digit into a cold pizza.  
"We're only a year younger than you." Aomine quietly pointed out.  
"—so you should really live a life with no regrets—no _consequences_."

Kiyoshi leant forward over the table with no regards for the food or drink that might smear against his clothes as his hands reached out. He placed the palms against Kagami and Aomine's cheek as the two of the said men sat there, uncertain of what the older one was up to.  
"You see, when you're _my_ age—"  
"Which is just next year…"  
"—You start to wonder '_Oh_! Maybe I should have done that!' or maybe even 'I wished this blah, blah, blah happened!"

Kiyoshi then moved Kagami and Aomine's heads together, trying to compress them but failing as Aomine tried to shake free from the Iron Heart's touch whilst Kagami tried to push his head in the opposite direction. Kiyoshi then chuckled a little, withdrawing his hands before sitting with his back pressed against the booths' chair. The red-head sat there, confused at Iron Heart's actions as Aomine yawned loudly, seeming not fazed by that.  
"But whatever—you can't change what's happened—or what hasn't." He slid his hand down the pocket of his pants, retrieving his phone.  
"What are you going to do with that?" Kagami asked, unknowingly leaning a little closer to Aomine.

"It's late; you guys probably had enough of me rambling on. I'll call a cab for you."  
"Ah, Sempai. I think you should get the cab—we'll be fine." Kagami insisted.  
"No, I've got to clean up and stuff. You both go on ahead." Kiyoshi yawned, shooing them off with a hand gesture.  
"Are you sure?" Aomine muttered shyly, trying to not show any concern.  
"Yeah, I am. It was nice seeing you Kagami—you too, Aomine-kun." He sighed, smiling a little.

"Ja, we'll be heading out first." Kagami bowed his head, standing up. Aomine followed and before long the two Aces left the older one in the café.

死後の世界

Wind rustled through the trees as a few branches banged up against glass wall. The time only read eleven fifty-six pm but the outdoor noise was enough to wake a certain copycat. Kise sat upright from his lying position on the floor of the pre-school premises as a cool and serene atmosphere hit his bare skin. Kise looked out through cracks in the closed blinds to see that it was still dark out before looking to his other side, where he saw a sleeping Kuroko. Underneath the layers of blankets lied their naked bodies—Kise glanced around to see a messed up area and their discarded clothes.

He sighed in an upset manor, sliding out from underneath the blankets. He scanned around for his pants but settled only for his boxers since it was the first thing he could see. Flashbacks of that night's heated events burned in his mind as he found himself cleaning up and tidying the place into a state Kuroko would have left it before going home. The air smelt impure which gave Kise a lingering bitter taste in his mouth as he bent over and picked up the article of clothing and placing them into a pile near a corner of a room.

"I can't believe I did that…" He whispered harshly to himself as he stepped over the small barrier and into the kitchen. He grabbed a cloth and turned open the tap, soaking the cloth before wringing out the water. He tried to be as quiet as he can as he headed over to the front counter. He stood in front of it before vigorously scrubbing it as if to wash away the lustful sin that was committed here, "I'm so _stupid_."  
"Kise-kun? What are you doing?" Spoke a raspy and light voice.

The blond turned around as he felt his heart stopped. His eyes locked onto Kuroko's before he swallowed his unknown fear down.  
"It—I just thought—it looked like it needed to be cleaned." Kise mumbled as he watch Kuroko emerge out from all of the blankets. The Shadow, like he once was, was naked and it didn't even take Kise a second to act all shy and divert his sight elsewhere. Kuroko was fast to notice this.  
"Kise-kun, this isn't the first time you've seen it." Kuroko bluntly said, causing the copycat to blush furiously.  
"Still, you should put some clothes on—pants at _least_." Kise requested as he continued to scrub the front counter. Kuroko obliged.

With his lower half covered, Kuroko wrapped his upper body with a blanket as he sat on the floor watching Kise do unnecessary tasks. Kise eventually finished wiping the counter before cleaning up the rest of the room—even if he wasn't the cause of it.  
"Kise-kun, could you stop for a second?" Kuroko spoke out just as the copycat was about to go onto wiping the glass wall.  
"Kurokocchi?" Kise said as the Shadow gestured him to come close.  
"Why're you doing this?" Kuroko asked as he pulled Kise down to sit in front of him.

The blond stayed silent as he looked as though he was searching for an answer, "I…"  
"If this is compensation, then forget about it. You're not to blame." Kuroko deducted, potentially hitting the bullseye, "So that's what this is."  
"This isn't enough!" Kise roared, tearing the blanket away from Kuroko, "Compensation? Yeah, maybe this is what this is but look what I did. Look at your body! There's bruises forming from how I treated you and there's red marks scattered all over your skin from when I— from when I…"

Kise couldn't complete his sentence as he remembered how he once wanted to hold Kuroko's hands against his own but instead felt them grip and lock tightly into his blond hair; he remembered the skin he wanted to wash nice and gently was now covered in bruises and marks and he remembered how he wanted those lips to say his name scream out in heated desperation. Everything he's ever wanted from Kuroko now ended up being done forcefully—he couldn't feel more regretful and embarrassed in his life so far.

"I can be a little stupid too." Kuroko sighed as he combed his fingers through Kise's hair.  
"What do you mean?" the copycat asked, closing his eyes as Kuroko did what he did.  
"Never mind. Let's just move on from this and go to sleep." The Shadow suggested, wiggling back underneath the blanket. Kise followed.  
"Yeah." Kise agreed, "I'm so sorry, Kurokocchi—I just… I just really- I was caught up in the moment. Luckily we didn't go _all the way_." Kise chuckled.  
"What does that mean?" Kuroko asked. Kise shook his head before pulling the smaller one against his chest.

死後の世界

"Shin-chan! It's going to rain!" A cheerful voice said as Midorima exited his work place.  
"Takao; what are you doing here?" The fate-follower asked as his eye twitched a little.  
"I'm going to walk you home." The Hawk-eye announced as he placed an arm around his high school friend, "You've been busy with work so I thought I would bring you an umbrella since you probably haven't had the time to watch the forecast."  
"There is no need." Midorima said, shrugging off Takao's touch, "The only thing I need to watch is Oha Asa's morning broadcast."

"Ah~ Yeah, I forgot that you're obsessed with that." Takao sighed, rubbing his temples, "Ah? Oi!" Midorima began to walk off; leaving the other behind but Takao was quick to catch up, even when the green-haired doctor blasted off in full walking pace.  
"Stop following me." Midorima mumbled as the two of them strolled down the moderately full city streets.  
"Not a chance!" The Hawk-eyes denied in an annoying tone.  
"Don't you have anything better to—_choo!_"  
"Choo? Did you just sneeze? Are you sick? That's pretty rare." Takao deducted as Midorima wiped his nose against his sleeve.

"Are you serious? I never get sick." The doctor spat out in a condescending tone.  
"Could this be karma?" The shorter male questioned, gaining a glare from the fate-follower.  
"Karma? Don't be ridiculous." Midorima said, rolling his eyes in disbelief.  
"Well you _did_ ditch Kagami and Aomine without so much as a 'goodbye', Shin-chan." Takao mumbled before whispering into Midorima's ear from behind, _"You ditched them to spend time with me, no less." _

The fate-follower flinched and turned around to face the shorter one—a blush lightly tinting his cheeks. Just as he was going to say another tsundere-like comment, he sneezed, causing Takao to let out a chuckle.

"Yeah, it is karma." The shorter male declared, placing a hand on Midorima's shoulder, "Come now; I'll make you tea."  
"Come now? Come where?" the doctor asked as Takao tugged him by the sleeve in the direction of his nearby apartment.  
"To my place, of course." He informed. Midorima struggled free but Takao was quick hold his grasp on him, "I'm going to treat your cold."

"I _don't _have a cold!"

黒子のバスケ © 藤巻 忠俊  
Kuroko No Basuke


	6. VI

**Afterlife**

Sunlight seeped through the cracks in the blinds as the time read seven o' four AM. It was a new day, a Tuesday in fact, as Kuroko's eyes refused to open. He was tired from the events of yesterday, most in which he wasn't sure what occurred in what order. He adjusted his body around, only to find out that he was lying on something soft and large. With his head turning to the side, he cracked an eye open. He then realized he was atop large bean bags, usually used for the kids who got tired and needed a little nap. With a blanket piled on him, he was in a comfortable position—a position where he didn't want to move from. He decided to get up though; he did have a job to get on with.

"Kise-kun?" Kuroko spoke out absent-mindedly as he rose to his feet. Glancing around, the blond in question was nowhere to be found. Kuroko expected this but he still felt somewhat disappointed. He let out a light sigh and within that moment, he recalled the acts of last night; he remembered every touch, every kiss and every breath of desperation that was created in that heated moment the copycat and Shadow shared. But with Kise not being here, did that mean he wanted to forget what had happened? He would have to admit, it did occur through impulse though, so maybe Kise just needed the things to go back to the way it was? That was most likely what he blond wanted, and in all honesty, Kuroko wanted that too—sure it must be overwhelming to see a friend after for all so long but it still would help to rebuild the time that's lost instead resuming where their relationship had stopped—back in high school.

Kise must have known that Kuroko was the type of person to understand the situation and he had hoped that this was one of those times.

Kuroko ran his digits through his hair as he walked over to the sink. He turned it on, letting his fingers get drenched underneath the cool sensation before splashing his face as if to wake himself up completely. He did that a couple of times, rinsing his mouth in between before being satisfied in his current state. He turned it off and then headed over to the glass wall where he spread the blinds apart; a bright light blinding his sight for a few seconds before his eyes adjusted. Water still dripped down his chin as he let out a small yawn. Kuroko only wore the pants that Kise had requested he wear which really didn't bother him at this point—no one was there so what was the point of clothes?

Walking over to the front cover, he took out a binder folder. He flipped through the sleeved pages until he reached a section labelled '_Week A, Tuesday._' It turns out that he was looking over a schedule for what he should do that day. He skimmed the page, getting an idea of what he's got to do. Usually, Kuroko doesn't come in work during weeks A and C since another worker takes care of the children but since she called in sick, he had to take the reins. He didn't mind, really but he felt somewhat restless—as though fate's got something to do with the events that happened yesterday. He wasn't exactly grateful that happened, but he sure as hell wouldn't take it back. He just hoped nothing else would ruin his clockwork, punctual life.

As Kuroko prepared the food and activities for the day, the front door of the premises rung, followed by an impatient sounding knock. The Shadow felt a wave of panic as he hurriedly retrieved his shirt; slipping into it before walking to the front door. He unlocked it with sweaty hands as the first thing he sees is a young little girl, no older than the age of three. She looked expectantly at Kuroko as her smile really reminded Kuroko as to why he bothered with his job in the first place. Her eyes and hair resembled someone he recalled from the past as she rushed into the pre-school, clearly excited. It was a face Kuroko had never seen before but he felt as though he's seen it somewhere.

"Kuroko-kun?" Spoke a deep, surprise-sounding voice. Kuroko's attention averted to where his name was spoken before his mouth slightly dropped.  
"Hyuga-sempai?" He replied as his eyes blinked a few times. Hyuga smiled in disbelief as he scratched the back of his head.  
"Puppy!" Squealed the little girl as the two adults of the premises walked in to where the kid was.

Nigou jumped on her in a playful manner, licking her face in sheer happiness. Kuroko had completely forgotten that Nigou was there and he felt a little panicky since the dog most likely had seen the… _lustful_ acts last night. Luckily though, he couldn't speak—if he could… Kuroko wouldn't even want to begin to think of what would happen. Nigou must've hid somewhere since Kuroko didn't notice him all that much—or he was just too preoccupied with something…

"Hyuga-sempai, is that your daughter?" Kuroko asked, as Hyuga looked a little embarrassed.  
"Yeah; she's cute, right?" The Clutch-shooter said, nodding his head as though to confirm his words.  
"She is. Are you here to enrol her into this pre-school?" The Shadow inquired, walking over to the front desk. Hyuga followed him.  
"Yeah—Riko's finally managed to let her go. Sorry, we should've called beforehand but we've been too busy."  
"It's fine. I'm sure we can work something out." Kuroko said, turning on his computer, "So her mother is… Coach?" The Shadow then said in a way that made it sound as though he was asking a question.

"Yeah, surprise, surprise." Hyuga sighed, ending that sentence with a smile.  
"Otou-san! I want a puppy too!" The girl shouted as she chased Nigou around.  
"No, Asami. You've made such a mess at home _and_ at Grandpa's gym. Having a dog will just double the mess." Hyuga informed in a strong, firm voice. Asami pouted, grabbing a hold Nigou by the head in a non-harmful way.

"She looks like you." Kuroko said as he handed Hyuga a registration enrolment form and a pen. Hyuga took it and immediately began to fill it out.  
"Really? I thought she looked more like her mother." The older one said, taking a glance at Asami before continuing to fill the form.  
"I'm sorry that I couldn't make the wedding, but you know, you both are really compatible. Your marriage was practically inevitable."  
"It's fine." Hyuga reassured, "Would have loved it if you and even Kagami made it, though. You kids sure are hard to get a hold of." He joked, chuckling a bit, "On a similar note, how is your love life?"

Kuroko choked a little which didn't go unnoticed by Hyuga.  
"You know, even if you kids are just a year younger, you really should think about what your future will be like. I mean, I know that married life isn't for everyone but in ten—_twenty_ years… do you really see yourself still doing this?" He asked, lodging a lump in Kuroko's throat.

死後の世界

The bed creaked with every sudden movement as Kagami's actions grew violently childish with every passing moment.  
"Stop it, Taiga! You're gonna break my bed." Aomine's slurred voice said as he buried his head within his pillows. Kagami didn't obliged—in face he moved faster to the point where he began to pant and break into a light sweat.  
"Never! You need to get up cuz believe it or not; you've got a job to get to that starts in less than an hour." Kagami informed as he jumped around Aomine's half-sleeping self, disrupting the Ace's peace.  
"You go." Aomine groaned, "Wait, no. Don't go." He quickly said, pulling himself up into a sitting position. Kagami sill continued to jump around.

"Don't worry—Alex isn't here. She left a while ago." Kagami said as the younger one to let out a sigh of relief, "But you know, she's not all that harmful."  
"Says the guy who rather sleep with me than with her." Aomine said, waving his arms out to grab a hold of Kagami to stop him from moving the bed.  
"Shut up! I'm not in high school anymore so whatever she does to me is completely legal." He said, collapsing in front of the blue-headed ace.  
"What? It's not like she's gonna rape you or anything." The darker-skinned male sighed, falling forward on top of Kagami.  
"Is that even possible?" He asked, casually wrapping an arm over Aomine's shoulder.

"I guess."  
"Strap-on?"  
"Probably."

Kagami chuckled a little before the atmosphere died into silence. The red-head sat there with Aomine against his chest, the said male's breathing in a peaceful way. He sighed at his roommate's inability to wake up before shaking him lightly, "Oi, at least get dressed up. You can sleep in the car on the way to work. Plus, you're drooling on me—it's disgusting." Kagami said, slipping away from Aomine's body. He slid off the bed, wiping off the saliva that stained his shirt before taking out Aomine's police uniform from its respective drawer and throwing it on the bed.

"Dress me up, Taiga." The dark-skinned male requested, yawning a little.  
"I'm leaving in twenty." Kagami informed, leaving Aomine's bedroom. He headed into the lounge room where he turned on the television. The channel was already fixed onto the morning news. Kagami, in the past, couldn't care less with what the media provided but with his life and current occupation, this was practically an essential show for him.

"_Now for some upsetting news; two children have passed away as several were left injured as a fire erupted in one of the safest pre-schools in the area, yesterday afternoon. Police are still trying to find the culprit but it is believed that it is a man in his mid-thirties with a tall build, rugged look and dark short brown hair. Anyone with information, please contact your local police. This is the second pre-school to have been attacked but do not be alarmed parents. The authorities will be patrolling the streets more than before to keep our city a safer place." _

"If we hadn't taken a day off, we might've been able to save those kids' lives and find the culprit." Aomine spoke out, emerging out from his bedroom. He was wearing his police pants whilst holding his shirt within his hands.  
"Could we really have made that much of a difference?" Kagami questioned as Aomine walked over to sit on the red-head's lap.  
"I suppose." He replied, taking a sip out of Kagami's coffee that had been prepared way before he woke up.  
"What's one more person gotta do with altering the outcome?"  
"I don't know. Ask Tetsu." Aomine smiled in pure nostalgia but Kagami didn't understand where the younger one was going on about.

死後の世界

"Shin-chan. Shin-chan~, I said!" Takao whispered loudly, shaking the said male, "Are you going to go to work today?" He asked. Midorima rolled onto his side with his face parallel Takao's. The doctor then opened his eyes and in that same moment, Takao placed Midorima's glasses on him.  
"Of course I'm going to work. What kind of question is that?" He asked as his sight adjusted.

"But aren't you sick? Your face is flushed red. Are you running a fever now?" Takao asked, placing his palm against Midorima's forehead.  
"I am _not_ sick. I have told you before and I will continue to say so." The fate-follower denied, sitting up.  
"But Shin-chan, you were sick enough to have to have stayed at my place." The Hawk-eyes gave off an innocent vibe which annoyed Midorima for some reason.

"Don't be ridiculous." Midorima retorted, "What time is it, anyways?"  
"Um, it's around seven-ish." Takao informed, handing the taller male a tablet, "Take this after eating breakfast."  
"I don't eat breakfast. I don't have the time to." He said, getting out of the bed and refusing to take the tablet.  
"Well you do know. I already called in sick for you so you should just relax."  
"Don't you have a job to get to?" Midorima snapped, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Ah~ Well you see…" Takao's sentence trailed off in hopes that there's something that can divert Midorima's attention somewhere else. Lady Luck just so happened to be on his side in that moment as the doctor let out a violent sneeze, "See! You're still sick."  
"I have _never_ been sick. So what makes you think I'm sick now?"  
"You just sneezed."  
"And where's your proof?"  
"You're kidding me, right?"

Takao sighed in slight frustration as it was clearly impossible to negotiate with this man. He then thought of something, "You know, if you go to work in your state, you'd get other patients sick, further increasing your workload. And if that happens, that'll cause more stress for you and…"  
"Fine. Let's just suppose I was sick. How do you suggest I get better?" Midorima asked, causing Takao to stare at him in sheer disbelief. He rolled his eyes.  
"Well you can take this tablet, a day off of work and have plenty of rest." The dark-haired proposed in a subtly sarcastic tone.

"Or…?"  
"Or…" Takao thought that Midorima would just go with what he had said, but it seems the fate-follower expected a better, more _reasonable_ option... at least, _reasonable_ in his parameters. Midorima waited for that non-existent option as Takao thought of something ridiculous and quick to amuse the doctor, "Or you could… pass your sickness onto me."  
"How do I do that?" Midorima asked. Takao was literally stunned at how gullible he was, despite having a university degree and such, but he decided to see how long this '_charade_' would go on for before it would crumble down.

"Well it's _obvious_! You gotta kiss me. On the lips. I mean, _everyone_ knows that." Takao said, folding his arms across his chest and sounding very convincing. He was waiting for the moment where Midorima would hit him for being overly stupid but that never came. Instead, he received a pair of soft lips against his own. Takao's eyes widened as he shoved his hands against Midorima's shoulders, pushing him away, "Wait I was just—"  
"Did it work?" The fate-follower asked with sincere eyes.  
"Hah?" Takao really didn't believe Midorima's behaviour as he touched his own lips as if they were sacred.

"Don't push me, I'll do it longer."  
"Shin-chan, I—no—"

Midorima once again pressed his lips up against Takao's, exerting such force so that the shorter male couldn't shake him off. He eventually parted though, looking at Takao in a way that made it look like he was asking if it had worked this time.  
"Shin-chan! Are you alright? You're not acting like yourself!" Takao immediately deducted, sliding himself away from the bed that the doctor occupied.  
"Scared yet?" Midorima asked, receiving a confused look from the Hawk-eyed male, "Yeah, that's what you get for not waking me up on time and calling in sick for me." He said before wrapping the blanket over his head and lying on his side—his back facing Takao.

"What."

黒子のバスケ © 藤巻 忠俊  
Kuroko No Basuke


	7. VII

**Afterlife**

It was a little before eight AM as a couple of Kuroko's pre-school kids began to arrive for the new day. He really hadn't planned anything for the early birds since he wanted the kids to be learning the same things, plus they seemed fine just playing around with Nigou. Kuroko stationed himself behind the counter, fiddling with a pen between his fingers as he leaned his chin against the palm of his free hand. His eyes trailed over to see what the kids were doing, but he didn't really pay attention. His mind, in fact had been wandering ever since his encounter with his ex-sempai. He did love what he was doing right now, but he really didn't see what he could be doing when he's thirty, forty and even fifty. Like stated in the beginning, he was the type to think about things when it was that time. Making decisions in the moment felt more real, more _authentic_—at least in his books.

The front door of the pre-school premises rattled all of a sudden, with keys being heard from the other side. The children didn't seem to notice as Kuroko stood upright, anticipating whoever might enter inside. He tapped the pen against the counter as a couple of light cursing could be heard. The door finally opened, revealing a younger-than-her-actual-age-looking blond female.

"Kuroko! Sorry I'm late!" She called out, waving her hands out in front of her. The children averted their attention to the new soul as their smiled lighted up at the sound of the familiar voice. She skipped down the narrow hall and in front of the counter, leaning forward and smiling.  
"Alex-san," Kuroko announced, "How was your… 'cold'?" He asked, emphasising a little at _cold_. She sighed.  
"More or less fine, I guess." She ended that sentence with a slight smile, "We made up so it's all good."

"So it was a fight?" Kuroko questioned as he began to pull out a couple of folders.  
"It was a little argument to the point where I needed a new place to crash for the night… or two." She softly said the few words as though to hide it, "Anyways, how's it going? You didn't forget Shiro-kun's birthday, did you?" She asked, sounding a little stressed.  
"No, I—Airi-chan reminded me, luckily. I managed to get something organised," He said, reassuring her. To be honest, he felt a little hurt that someone as punctual as him forgot a birthday whereas someone as carefree as Alex remembered as though it was her own. But he knew something like that wasn't going to get him down for the rest of the day—he couldn't.

"What a relief!" She sighed as she walked behind the front counter to stand next to Kuroko. She produced a hair tie from the pocket of her jacket and began to tie up her hair as her eyes trailed over the folders that Kuroko had placed earlier.  
"Where did you stay, Alex-san?" The Shadow then asked out of sheer curiosity.  
"Well, I _was_ going to see if I could crash with you but I didn't want to disturb you so I stayed with Tai—a couple of friends." She quickly changed her sentence before it was too late. She wasn't exactly sure why she did that—working with Kuroko, she learnt that Kagami and the other's he's spent his high school days with haven't really gotten in touch in a while so she thought it was best to not mention that they were still in contact.

Alex didn't keep their whereabouts hidden to be selfish, she just thought that something might've happened for them to not still making lunch dates and such. Kuroko seemed to not have noticed that Alex deviated away from her initial answer as he replied with a lifeless 'oh'.

死後の世界

The smell of fresh dairy products made Aomine sick to his stomach. The dark-skinned male didn't even know such air freshener existed but he knew how much Kagami loved his food. When he asked why he got dairy product smell instead of something more appetising, the response was 'I might eat it.' The two of them were in the car on the way to work; the radio was off as the only sounds that could be heard were faint breathing and the car indicator ticking, signalling the other cars whether they were going to go right or left. Kagami took the wheel as Aomine tried his best to go back to sleep—it wasn't working.

The red head sneaked a glance at Aomine who clutched his stomach and rolled his head against the seat. He looked annoyed as Kagami scoffed lightly at Aomine's '_are we there yet'_ expression.

"You look like you got rolled." Kagami deducted, keeping his eyes on the road. Aomine let out a small disgruntled sound.  
"Shut up, I'm tired." The younger one defended, earning a snicker from Kagami, "Well, I _did_ say that you should dress me."  
"What are you, a kid?" Kagami asked, his voice ascending to a high sounding pitch, "What makes you think I'd dress you, anyways?"  
"Because you love touching boys… and you also love sleeping with them." Aomine mocked, causing Kagami to snap.  
"Oh my gosh, I already told you the reason!" He whined, "And besides… it was just one time!" He then defended.

"_One_—one time? Was it _really_ just _one_ time? One time?" Aomine scoffed, repeating himself knowing full well it would agitate the older one.  
"Yes, yes it _was_ just one time; _just_ once." Kagami firmly said as he tried not to let his voice waver.  
"Okay, it looks like we need to go down Memory Lane," Aomine announced, throwing his hands in the air.  
"Memory—_Memory Lane_? Who says that?" Kagami objected. Aomine ignored.  
"Remember that time when you had such a heroic save, drank your _ass_ off and shoved yourself onto my bed? Do you remember that?"  
"No, I don't remember that!" Kagami said, blushing a little, "Besides, even if that _did_ happen, I'm pretty sure it wasn't as bad as you said."

Aomine pinched Kagami's cheek playfully, "How about that time where,"  
"La-la-la-la-la-la, I can't hear you! La-la-la-la-la-la," Kagami interrupted, turning on the radio with one hand and steering the wheel with the other.  
"Where you thought that I was gonna bring a girl home so you,"  
"Ah-la-la-la-la-la! You're not saying this, la-la-la-la-la!" Kagami's voice grew louder as he knew what Aomine was talking about.  
"You sneaked into my bed, acting as though you were in deep sleep and when I woke you up, you said you thought this was your bed—"

Kagami shoved a hand against Aomine's face in attempts to shut him up but that only made Aomine mimic him.  
"Hey!" Kagami shouted as the dark-skinned ace partially covered the red head's eyes, "You're gonna kill us!"  
"If we die, we die together!" Aomine childishly announced, laughing as Kagami struggled to keep them from crashing into another car and such.  
"You make it sound like we're married or—something…" The red head's voice trailed off as Aomine withdrew his hands.

Their bickering died down into uncomfortable silence. Kagami gulped down audibly as the younger one found himself looking out the window.  
"Nice weather today." The red head suddenly spoke out after glancing at Aomine. Aomine looked at Kagami in disbelief of what he just said.  
"Are you serious? We _just_ had an awkward moment and you're going to talk about the _weather_?" The younger one spat out, rolling his eyes.  
"Yeah, well—what else am I supposed to say? Besides, we shouldn't be awkward, especially since we live together." Kagami reasoned.  
"Whatever. I guess you're right _for once_." Aomine quietly spoke the last two words that went unnoticed by the dense red head.

Another uncomfortable silence doomed the atmosphere as Kagami drew close to their workplace. He finally pulled over by a curb, parking the car in a fee free zone. The two of them sat there, not moving from their position. The red head was the first to break the silence.

"Well, you did have the choice of kicking me out, you know." He spoke. It took a while before Aomine got where Kagami was at.  
"You're _still_ on about that?" The dark-skinned ace replied, "And besides, you looked comfortable so whatever. It was late too."  
"Yeah, it was…"

Their eyes locked onto each other's by a mere coincidence but neither averted their attention away as Kagami never knew how close they were before he could even register the length of space between them. The younger one found himself leaning closer to the older one, but it seemed as though his mind wasn't even aware of it. Kagami barely moved an inch, showing no signs of what's about to come as the officer's hand was wrapped around the back of his head. Their noses brushed up against each other's as a foreign feeling erupted in the pits of their stomachs. Kagami was indeed confused and scared at how close Aomine was but he didn't seem like he was going to reject him.

Just as their lips were about to meet, a car zoomed by, causing other vehicles to beep their horns. The minute their ears heard that, as if on cue, they withdrew back, shocked and surprise at that loud sound. Aomine saw that there was a light shade of pink colouring Kagami's cheeks in which he found to be cute. Cute? Wait, Aomine thought Kagami was _cute_? That thought bewildered the officer as he tried to get rid of it.

"Aren't you going to give that guy a ticket for speeding?" Kagami suddenly asked, still flushed as ever.  
"I'm not on duty yet." Aomine replied almost automatically.

死後の世界

Takao slumped on the lounge room couch, fiddling with a fairly new, fairly expensive digital camera. He held the device by the zooming lens, focusing in and out at nothing in particular as he tried to get a feel for this new piece of technology. The day settled into his apartment as the sun roared through the balcony's glass screen door. The television was on as a show that he didn't pay much mind to viewed on his reasonably expensive flat-screen TV. Takao's apartment wasn't really big—in fact; the kitchen, lounge room and balcony were all in one room whereas his bedroom and toilet/laundry had a door to keep opened or shut.

He took a couple of thoughtless shots, deleted them and repeated; he was bored out of his mind as it seems as though he was waiting for something to happen.

"Give me food." Spoke a sleepy Midorima as he emerged from Takao's bedroom. He was only dressed in a white t-shirt and hot pants as the warmth of the atmosphere was almost torturous, "Right now, or I'll…" Midorima couldn't finish his sentence as a yawn interrupted him.  
"Oh well, good afternoon, Shin-chan!" Takao almost jumped out of his seat as he said that. He placed the camera on the couch as he moved towards his friend, "What would you like to eat?"  
"Anything, just feed me." Midorima grumbled, rubbing his eye underneath his glasses. With his other hand, he scratched the back of his head as he shuffled towards the kitchen in a way that makes it seems as though he's on auto-pilot.

"Hey, hang on. You'll bump into the edge of the wall!" Takao warned, grabbing Midorima's arm and tugging him back. The Hawk immediately withdrew his hand the minute he touched the fortune follower. Midorima was hot, sticky and sweaty and speaking from experience, it was not a pleasant feeling. His skin was soft as though they it was melted from the sun and Takao couldn't help but worry, "Oi, Shin-chan. Before you eat, why don't you take a cool shower?"  
"Why, do I stink?" Midorima asked, his eyes closed as he leaned his forehead against the wall.  
"C'mon, you're sweaty. You'll feel better and refreshed afterwards." Takao said in attempts to persuade his half-sleepy friend.

"Fine… but you've gotta take one with me." Midorima mumbled out. The Hawk's eyebrows rose in disbelief in what he just heard as Midorima turned to face him. The fortune follower looked at Takao in confusion and the reason for that is that Midorima genuinely thought he said, _'you've got to take one after me.'_ But evidently, it did not come across as that way.

死後の世界

**Initiate: **_Akashi, Seijuro._

The sunlight hit his pale skin as his eyes remained closed. He basked underneath the natural heat as he wore his traditional red _yukata_. He sat upon a black metal chair that held possession of an interesting, swirly style. There was a leather cushion underneath him in which he sat on to for sheer comfort as there were arm rests securing his sides. Akashi was seated alone on a corner table outside the patisseries' outdoor area, enjoying the light breeze as it whispered against his skin. He gained a couple of stares from other customers who seated themselves near where he did for his strange look for someone who lives in the city, but he paid them no mind.

His personality slightly remained as it did in his schooling days; he was always right, always first and was always ahead. He had no need to put anyone in their place since most can just _feel_ the fearsome aura he emitted just by merely existing. He still held some power over those who were once in the _Generation of Miracles_ as he did in his Teikou years but not as much. A thing called _life_ happened and well, most have drifted further away—and it wasn't just different high schools—but different _occupations_, different _jobs._ It was only clear to him then that control cannot be rendered useful when in this _life_.

"Akachin, why're you wearing such embarrassing clothing out in public?" A slurred but sober voice called out.  
"I have no reason to _not_ wear what I want, Atsushi." Akashi coldly replied as Murisakibara walked over to him, still dressed in his chef's apron. In his hand, he held on a plate, a small delicacy in which Akashi had ordered quite some time earlier.  
"You're right, you're right." The chef said, hoping to not start any sort of quarrel with the ex-captain.  
"Of course I'm right."

Murisakibara placed the plate atop Akashi's table before saying, "Did you see Minechin on the news yesterday morning?"  
"Reckless as always. If he continues as he is, then he will end up dead." Akashi took a nearby fork and stabbed the delicacy through the middle in a scary way. Murisakibara thought it was best to leave but instead he sat upon the free chair at Akashi's table.  
"Ah, I see. Oh and did you know Kurochin works at a preschool?" He blatantly informed.  
"Hmph. It's to be expected."

黒子のバスケ © 藤巻 忠俊  
Kuroko No Basuke

**Sorry for the shit Akashi introduction and the short MidoTaka scene. OTL**


	8. VIII

** Afterlife **

**Note: Aomine, Kagami and Midorima's events are happening at the same time as Kuroko's continuous event in between the breaks. **

Time slowed down as Kuroko entered himself into a somewhat deep thought. He wasn't thinking of anything in particular but he did have things on his mind, although they weren't important enough to be speculating about. He was seated at a nearby park as the sun heated his pale skin. There was no breeze as the sounds of all things natural went through one ear and out the other. He had a vanilla milkshake in his hand that had been long finished as he let out a saddening yet pointless sigh. Earlier, he made a small, but unintentional mistake. But it was enough for Alex to send him off for the rest of the day and all of tomorrow. He spaced out for just a mere second as he went to retrieve the juice boxes in the fridge. With the drink in hand, he suddenly heard Alex shout: _Kuroko! What's she doing in the kitchen? _Kuroko turned around to see a young infant raiding the bottom drawers that had dangerous utensils in her hand.

"_I think you should take the rest of the day off, kid. You look like you need it. Its fine—I've got this under control." _

Kuroko leaned back against the bench as he felt something soft rub against his legs. He guessed it was Nigou—he insisted that his best friend should stay at the pre-school but the little canine was just as persistent and followed him out. It couldn't be helped but the kids had enough on their mind to forget that Nigou had left along with him. He brought his vanilla milkshake up to his lips, slurping down any droplets he might've left before heaving himself up to his feet. He then looked down, "Let's go home, Nigou." Kuroko suggested, earning a positive sounding bark from the said canine.

So the two of them ventured off into the direction of where Kuroko resided. He lived in a reasonable sized apartment whose land lady was sweetest woman one would meet in their life time. She didn't even question as to why Kuroko let a dog into her residence and so, every once in a while, he'd bring over some food to give her as a thanks for letting him keep Nigou in the apartment. Nigou barked along as the familiar home he shared with the Shadow got him unusually excited. Shaking his head, Kuroko retrieved his keys from his back pocket and opened the first entry before walking three flights of stairs to get to the level he lived on.

The building was a six story apartment, with four places on each floor. Kuroko lived on the third floor at number eleven. Soon reaching his door, he fumbled with his keys to eventually have the right one that opens his place. As soon the door lightly creaked open, Nigou dashed inside, barking loudly whilst running in circles around the furniture. Kuroko cocked his head in sheer confusion at the canine's behaviour before realizing why he was acting the way he did. Kuroko and Nigou didn't go home yesterday as they spent their night at the pre-school centre. The Shadow sighed at that thought before dropping his keys on the kitchen counter, soon leaning his back against the rim of it before burying his head in his hands.

死後の世界

Aomine let out a sigh, followed shortly by a yawn. He was bored, as he leaned lazily atop his police motorcycle. The sun roared in his face as his head began to sweat faster due to the police officer's cap that he wore. With a packet of cards in his hands, he skillfully shuffled them, knowing that he was right to buy them in the first place. Kagami complained how he's wasting too much money on unnecessary novelty items, but Aomine didn't care. He really wasn't one to listen to other people's orders (unless if he absolutely had to) and Kagami's complaints were no different. The officer didn't know much car tricks, but he was skilled in playing card games. Or at least he _thinks _so, seeing as there really wasn't anyone to play any games with. There was the red head he lived with, but his day job must've been more tiring than his.

Sometimes, Aomine would wonder why he joined the police force—may it be the influence of video games or such, he never really had much of a motive. Now that he thinks about it, he had a perfect path in the direction of being a professional basketball player. But life really did kick in and shifted his mind into one of the most important jobs in maybe the entire world. Maybe he was swayed of the idea of saving lives— and as that thought came across his mind, he thought of a certain _shadow._

Aomine shook his head as if to rid his mind of such thoughts of the past as what's already done can't be changed regarding career choices. It'd be a waste for him to just up and quit now, plus chances are that his skills rusted over the years.

"I should ask Taiga to come play ball some time…" Aomine mumbled out thoughtlessly as he shuffled the cards in his hands. He was stationed in the inner part of the city, so called "patrolling" the area. But citizens that would pass by wouldn't believe that he's serious about his job, and that's how he'd want them to think. Those who are low-life thugs will see his laid-back self and see this as a chance to commit a crime, but Aomine was very aware of his surroundings. Plus, he's athletic as well as having good reflex skills so he'd be able to catch the criminal in the act.

"Tch… I should've become something more exciting… Like what Taiga is." He continued to mumble about the red head. Suddenly, a flash of what happened earlier between the two came into his mind, causing his to drop a chunk of his cards:

_Their eyes locked onto each other's by a mere coincidence but neither averted their attention away as Kagami never knew how close they were before he could even register the length of space between them. The younger one found himself leaning closer to the older one, but it seemed as though his mind wasn't even aware of it. Kagami barely moved an inch, showing no signs of what's about to come as the officer's hand was wrapped around the back of his head. Their noses brushed up against each other's as a foreign feeling erupted in the pits of their stomachs. Kagami was indeed confused and scared at how close Aomine was but he didn't seem like he was going to reject him. _

Shaking his head once more, he bent down to pick up the cards he had dropped saying, "What the _hell_ was I thinking? Damn bastard even blushed." He suddenly felt something buzz in his back pocket. It was his phone notifying him that he got a text.

死後の世界

Kuroko stood parallel to the fridge as he was lost for ideas of what to do then when suddenly, something vibrated in his front pocket of his pants. He was startled but nevertheless, he reached down and retrieved it. It notified him of an incoming call from none other than Alex. Sighing, he answered.  
"Hello?" He casually said just as Nigou came into the kitchen, pushing his empty dog bowl towards him. Kuroko understood the canine's gesture.  
"Ah, Kuroko. How're you doing? Just calling to check up on you." Alex spoke, with her voice lowering as she spoke to the kids.  
"Ah, yeah I'm fine." Kuroko replied, walking over to the pantry to get the dog food—Nigou barked in excitement.  
"That's good. I'm sorry for just telling you to go— I just thought you needed some time to yourself since you didn't seem like yourself." The blond apologised in attempts to clear up and bad air that might've been between them.

"No, it's understandable." The Shadow reassured, receiving a sigh of relief from the older woman.  
"I see. Anyways, I was going to ask you about it later, but the new kiddie, Asami? Yeah, where did you leave her enrolment paper?" She asked.  
"Oh, I already registered her into the computer." Kuroko informed, holding the bag of dog food in his arms before pouring recklessly into the bowl.  
"Awesome! Less work for me!" She joked, "So what are you—oh hang on a second. Someone's at the door." She interrupted herself.  
"Ah."

Kuroko waited patiently, keeping the phone close to his ear just in case she was to talk directly back at him. Placing the dog food on the tiled floor of the kitchen, Kuroko sat down with his legs crossed. He watched Nigou chow down the dog food in an enthusiastically cute way. Patting the canine's head, he smiled to himself as he knew that Nigou was the only one who wouldn't put him on hold—not that he was angry with Alex.

死後の世界

Sprawled across the couch in the garage of his workplace, Kagami's eyes threatened to close and enter him into a deep slumber. His work mates caused a loud raucous around the sliding poles and fire trucks but that still didn't stop Kagami from falling asleep. Everyone was finding ways to amuse themselves as they waited for that 119 call they might receive. Yesterday, the fighters had to put out a fire at a pre-school but due to the unco-operating citizens, they arrived a second late, thus resulting in the death of two young lives. It was weird though how they acted normally today, but Kagami decided to not touch on the subject as it must been a horrible ordeal to go through.

"Late night?" Spoke a kind voice that belonged to a female. Kagami sat upright on the couch to allow the female to sit next to him, and that she did. She brought over two cups of coffee—Kagami bowed his head in thanks.  
"No. Just feeling tired." The red head replied, taking a sip out of the mug, "This is good." He then said, complimenting the coffee.  
"Heh." She breathed out. Kagami turned around to see his work mates play fighting each other like high school students without a care.  
"Man, they're so lively. Even for _their_ age." The red head sighed, shaking his head as if to act mature.  
"Well I mean, after yesterday I guess they learned to just live life to the fullest. Those kids passed away before they _really_ lived, you know?" She explained.  
"Yeah… So uh… When's the um…" Kagami couldn't bear to say the word _funeral_ but lucky the female understood.  
"This Saturday. Yeah, the guys are going to pay their respects and I guess… apologise? I'm unsure."  
"Oh, s-should I come?"

"Nah, don't sweat it, kid." Spoke a voice from behind Kagami. The said male turned to look over his shoulder, "You don't wanna have to go."  
"Yeah, he's right Kagami-kun." The female spoke, placing a hand on his shoulder to make him look at her, "It's upsetting and you shouldn't have such things on your conscious."  
"Then why are they—"

"It was our responsibility to save their lives and yet we failed, unfortunately. If anything, we should at _least_ be there to bid them farewell." The fighter said, "I heard that one of the kids that passed away really wanted to show their parents something they did that day."  
"Oh, how sad." The female sighed, clutching her chest as if to show her genuine pain.  
"Yeah… So you know… Us guys aren't just goofing around because it's boring. We're doing that because life really is too short, as cliché as t that sounds and we should enjoy the time we have." The fighter gave a melancholic look which sent shivers down Kagami's spine.  
"So our advice to everyone here," Spoke another fighter in a loud voice so that everyone could hear, "Live in the moment! And don't leave anything unsolved!"

Cheers filled the air as those encouraging words imprinted themselves into Kagami's mind.  
"Live in the moment, huh?" He mumbled to himself. Suddenly, as if scripted, he reached for his phone that sat idly on the coffee table in front before texting a certain _officer._

'_Daiki, we should probably talk about this morning.' – Send._

死後の世界

"_Hello?" _Kuroko heard Alex say, followed by the sound of the front door opening, "_Who is it?"_  
"_Where is she?" _Spoke a deep and desperate sounding voice that belonged to a middle-aged man.  
"_Sorry, who are you talking about?"_ Alex asked.  
"_Where is she?!" _The voice sounded more fearful as Kuroko heard Alex tsk.  
"_I don't know who you're—hey!"_ The blond screeched which prompted Kuroko to immediately record the conversation.

"Alex-san?" The Shadow then called out, receiving no response as predicted.  
"_Oi! Sir, you're not allowed to be in here!" _Alex said as the sound of the phone being placed on some sort of table could be heard.  
"_Where is she? I know she's here! Tell me where she is!" _The man continued as all sound that were being made by the children hushed down.  
"_I don't who 'she' is. Now Sir, please exit the premises." _Alex requested, sounding as professional as she could.  
_"No, she's here. I know it. Stop hiding her!" _Was heard, soon followed by a shriek.  
"Alex-san, what's going on?" Kuroko asked, feeling his chest tighten.

He received again, no answer. Shoving his phone into his pocket, he grabbed his keys, deciding to head back over there once more. It was approximately a fifteen minute walk, but as the scary sounding situation dawned in over the call, he only found it fit to run. Nigou began to bark, sensing the panic and worry in Kuroko's aura.

"Nigou, stay." Kuroko commanded, but the canine barely obliged, "Stay, please. I'll be back soon." The Shadow soon urged with serious eyes.  
"Arffff… Rrrarfff!" Nigou growled, before pointing his nose towards the door.  
"Fine…" Kuroko was quick to give in as he really had no time to argue with his companion. Opening the front door, Nigou bolted out with Kuroko locking the door and soon following the canine back to the pre-school.

死後の世界

"And where do _you_ think _you're_ going?"  
"Tch…"

Midorima, feeling refreshed as ever had eventually stepped out of Takao's room, dressed in professional looking clothes. He had planned to sneak away back to work but his plan, like most, has failed. He really sucked at being stealth, but that's what made him somewhat loveable.  
"In my time as a doctor, I have _never_ taken a day off. Not even on public holidays, or Christmas." Midorima informed, pushing his glasses up.  
"That's lonely, Shin-chan. Does that mean you're still a virgin?" Takao casually asked, standing parallel to Midorima whilst crossing his arms.  
"E-e-excuse me? What kind of question is that!?" The fate follower was caught off guard by such thing that Takao treated as a normal topic for discussion.  
"What? I was just asking. I mean, I get curious too." The Hawk cocked his head to the side.  
"A little _too_ curious, Takao." Midorima pushed passed him before heading towards the door.  
"S-Shin-chan~!" Takao called out, "At least have break-fast!"

Midorima sighed, "It's almost lunch."  
"Then have breakfast then lunch if you're so punctual about eating the right meal."  
"I don't have time for such trivial things."  
"That's trivial!?" Takao honestly didn't believe the fate follower's thinking as they were bizarre as they were stupid, "Besides, it's not like the hospital's going anywhere! Take your time. Eat the food I've prepared for you or you'll hurt my feelings!" Takao tried persuading. Groaning lightly, Midorima turned around and headed towards the kitchen, hearing a _yes_ on the way.

As Midorima stepped into the kitchen, his jaw slightly dropped, "Why is there a buffet in here?!" He asked. Takao giggled, "Don't give me that!"  
"Sorry~ Shin-chan just took too long in the shower so I just decided to you know…" Takao's sentence trailed off as he acted like a kohai giving his sempai a valentine's gift or something along those lines. Midorima tsked.  
"No. No I _don't_ know. I'm not eating all of this." The fate follower complained.  
"Then I'm not going to let you leave!" Takao wrapped his arms around Midorima's waist in attempts to bind him to his apartment.  
"So you're basically going to make me eat against my own will?!" Midorima shoved the Hawk away in disbelief of his current predicament.  
"Of course~" Takao smiled evilly as he grabbed a nearby plate and shoved it into Midorima's hands, "Anyways, you're so fussy. What's got you riled up to want to head to the hospital so soon?"

"I don't know… I just have this feeling that something bad will happen." Midorima took the plate before subconsciously stacking his plate with food, "But for some reason, I also get the impression that this grim event will reunite… old friends…"  
"So first you follow fate and now you see the future?" Takao asked.  
"It's not like that. It's just a feeling."  
"Yep, yep." Takao replied, not really caring about Midorima's uncertainty of this _bad event_, "Now eat up! There's more in the fridge."

Little did he know, this event will come true.

黒子のバスケ © 藤巻 忠俊  
Kuroko No Basuke

**God, I hope that makes sense. Anyways, I seriously dislike it when people follow/favourite this story cuz it makes me feel guilty for not updating it in FOREVER. Ugh, whatever HERE. HERE'S YOUR UPDATE. TAKE IT! IT'S YOURS! No, I think after this chapter, the updates would come faster since I was stuck for ideas to progress my ideas. **


	9. IX

**Afterlife**

The faint smell of disinfectant filled Kuroko's nose as he flinched at every little touch that the nurse made.  
"Just a little more, Kuroko-san and I'll be able to bandage you up." The nurse spoke as she cringed in guilt at the necessary pain she had to do. She then dabbed the clean towel into some sort of strong smelling liquid before lightly pressing it against Kuroko's shoulder wound. The nurse saw Kuroko's face twist in pain as she hurriedly tried to do all she could to disinfect the wound before neatly and carefully bandaging the stinging area. She soon left the room, leaving Kuroko to sit alone atop the examination bed. His breathing was shaky as his eyes remained tightly shut. His skin was heated as all the limbs in his body trembled. His mind forgot the ordeal, but his body sure remembered every detail of it. He let out a light sigh just as a knock surfaced.

"Kuroko, I'm coming in." Spoke a voice beyond the door. It slid open, revealing a young doctor—_Midorima_ to be exact.  
"Ah, yes…" Kuroko replied in a way to let the fate follower acknowledge his entrance.  
"How are you feeling?" Midorima asked which was rather unusual of him but he did since this was his profession.  
"I'm fine." The Shadow replied softly, looking at the green-haired male with no signs of hesitation. Midorima gritted his teeth—he absolutely _hated_ it when Kuroko hid behind his perfectly mastered façade of showing _no_ emotion whatsoever. It irked him, especially if his job requires him to understand others and their situation. Tsking, Midorima leant against a nearby bench top before crossing his arms over his chest.

"Are you sure you're fine?" The fate follower soon pressed on, unsatisfied with Kuroko's answer. But the older one stood his ground and nodded without actually confirming anything with words. Sighing, Midorima found it pointless to question on since Kuroko had always been this way. The blue-haired male, even if he was putting on a brave face, was devastated at his weakness. He may have done something heroic but he felt the burden of responsibility weigh down on him. All knew that Kuroko wasn't to blame and that he shouldn't state that this was his fault, but he thought that if he had been there, things might've changed—if he had _called_ earlier, things might've changed.

Midorima pressed his lips into a thin line as his eyebrows narrowed. He saw that Kuroko was thinking of something, but he couldn't pin point _what_ it was exactly. Suddenly, the door slid open once more. Both Kuroko and Midorima turned their heads to catch a more than a glimpse of the new intruder.

"Tetsu," A deep voice called, followed the door sliding shut, "How foolish have you become over the last couple of years?"  
"Aomine-kun…" Kuroko's voice shrunk as tension built itself into the atmosphere.  
"I'll be taking my leave, then." Midorima announced, not looking back as he exited the room. Silence immediately filled their ears as their different shades of blue locked onto each other's. The only sound that could really be heard was the faint breathing of the two which gave off an eerie feeling.  
"Tch…" Aomine, unable to take the silence, broke it as he took a few steps closer to Kuroko before wrapping his arm around the Shadow's head, pulling him close to his chest, "You're so stupid and that's coming from _me. _I've always wanted to see you, but not under these circumstances."

Kuroko could hear the steady beat of Aomine's heart pound against his ear as he lingered against him to feel the warmth he lacked, "I'm sorry."  
"That's not gonna cut it." The younger one immediately replied, gritting his teeth a little, "You could've _died._ You knew that there were—"  
"If I hadn't done what I've did, then _she_ would've died." Kuroko interrupted, without meaning to. He felt Aomine's arm tighten across his head for just a brief second before taking a step back. Kuroko was quick to miss the younger one's gentle touch but showed no signs of it across his face.

"Anyways…" Aomine stood up straight with a hand running through the front of his hair before it drop back down to his side, "Personal feelings aside, I need to ask you a couple of questions pertaining to the incident." Aomine, accompanied by his police uniform looked and seemed very professional which made Kuroko realise the drastic changes he went through all these years.  
"I understand." The Shadow replied with lifeless eyes.  
"Firstly, what caused all of this?"

死後の世界

_Two hours earlier_

He swallowed deeply as his throat grew dry. Nigou was faster but Kuroko could just manage to stay on the same page as the canine as they dashed back over to the pre-school. His phone that remained in his pocket still recorded his conversation with Alex, given that the blond hadn't disconnected from him or vice versa. A sudden loud bang was soon heard, causing the Shadow's heart to freeze on the spot for a sheer second—that sound had erupted in the direction of his destination. Ridding his mind from all things bad, he continued to dash forward before he felt his body halt.

Orange flickers of flames coloured the windows as smoke polluted the air above the preschool. Innocent bystanders watched in horror as most had already called the ambulance, fire brigade and possibly the police. Shrieks and screams could be heard from inside and out of the area as Kuroko watched on helplessly. He knew he had to do something but what? He felt weak. And he knew that he was. If he were to go in there, would he change the outcome or just be a casualty?

A barking Nigou broke the Shadow's train of thought as Kuroko saw the canine dash into the entrance of the preschool.  
"Nigou!" Kuroko called out in a voice he's never used, let alone _heard_ before in his entire life. Shamelessly using his companion as an excuse, Kuroko pursued the canine into the burning premises. Before he even entered it though, he could feel the intense heat. It was so strong that his skin began to sweat. Opening the front door, he heard and saw the fire greedily devouring the room as it fuelled itself with oxygen.

In the back corner, he saw all the children—they were all covered in blankets with Alex shielding them with her arms.  
"Alex-san!" Kuroko spoke out, covering his mouth as the fire licked the walls and carpet, "Are you okay?"  
"Kuroko! You shouldn't be here!" Alex's glasses were fogged as she looked in the direction where she heard Kuroko's voice come from, "Get out! This place will collapse!" She warned, not moving her extended arms out to wipe the fog from her eyes in fears that the children might get hurt.  
"No, we need to get the out right now!" Kuroko pleaded, trudging through the fire and smoke into the direction Alex and the children were. His vision was blurred as the heat was intense.

"The fire brigade will be here soon but for now we need to reduce any risks." The Shadow informed as he heard glass begin to crack. The ceiling's fans were also handing by mere wires and threatened to fall as well as parts of the cracked concrete roof. Kuroko, with all those hazards in mind, tried to rush them all out whilst they posed no harm at the moment. He finally reached them as Alex stood up.  
"We can't take them all at once though. What if one gets caught up—"  
"Then I'll stay while you take them." Kuroko cut off Alex, suggesting something courageous. Alex hesitated before nodding.

And with that, Alex had one child on her back, two pairs of children holding each other's hands by her own and one child in front of her as she hurried over to the entrance. When fresh air was breathed into her lungs, it appears that news had already spread fast. Anxious parents cried tears of joy as Alex brought out their child as the other parents waited in fear. There was a news van with a news reporter capturing the horrific scene as the fire brigade and ambulance reached the pre-school.

死後の世界

"I stayed with the remaining children as Alex took more than half of the kids to safety… The fans and the walls soon began to cave in as the glass wall shattered, gashing my shoulder open. Two fire fighters came in and took the children and at that time, I refused to leave. I didn't know where Nigou went so I stayed as they placed the children's safety as their utmost priority and took them outside… I searched for Nigou and it turns out… Hyuga-sempai's daughter had passed out and Nigou sensed her weak presence. She was under the blanket and the first spark of smoke triggered her asthma. She had her puffer on her but it ran out. A fighter came back in and I told him her situation and rushed him out, telling him that I'd be able to make it out and that she needed fresher air or she'd…" Kuroko recalled as fast as he could as if he feared forgetting the details.

Aomine had his notepad, scribbling down any details he deemed as relevant. His face remained calm but deep down inside, he was really hurt. He was upset that he'd almost lost someone special to him and he was troubled that Kuroko had to go through such an ordeal. He didn't dare to interrupt as Kuroko continued to tell his series of events.

"I grabbed a hold of Nigou, but I don't know… I think I might've fainted soon after. I could hear Nigou barking loudly but his voice faded as did my vision."

Aomine closed his notepad, causing Kuroko to look up from his lap. He seemed ashamed as he recounted the events of that afternoon before Aomine parted his lips to speak, "Was there any sign of the arsonist?" _Idiot—you should've just asked him if he was alright!_ Aomine thought, mentally beating himself. The Shadow sighed, shaking his head. Aomine nodded in a way to say that it's alright that there weren't any signs, "Main thing is that no one was badly injured or you know…" Aomine said in a light and somewhat uplifting voice. Kuroko smiled at the effort the officer tried to make.

"I'm sorry that I'm not much of a help." The Shadow apologised, pressing his lips into a thin line.  
"Don't be. It isn't your fault." Aomine reassured, placing a hand on the shoulder that wasn't injured. Kuroko's line of sight drifted off to where Aomine's hand was before looking at the officer himself. Their eyes met but neither retreated away as they stationed themselves in silence. For the next few moments, no words broke the silence but so much was said. Kuroko subconsciously placed his hand atop Aomine's and felt the warmth he did when the younger one held him closer earlier.

"Tetsu…" Aomine sighed sweetly as he took the initiative and actually held the smaller one's hand. He felt Kuroko jolt in surprise but he showed no signs of rejecting the gesture. Aomine wasn't sure why he did what he did but lately he wasn't sure why he did anything anymore. Maybe it was that talk with Kagami's sempai the other night that made him change how he acts around certain people. And Kuroko was obviously no exception.

Aomine's life as it is now was definitely not how he had planned. He thought that he'd go on to do great things in the world of basketball but somehow along the line, he ended up being a police officer living with someone who's just _like_ him in almost every aspect. In all honesty, he had actually planned his life with either Momoi or his beloved ex-shadow. Sure, he wasn't the type to look like he'd plan something like that, but when graduation drew near he _knew_ he'd have to think about what he'd do after his high school life ended.

"Hey…" Aomine's grip on Kuroko's hand tightened, "Don't disappear on me like you did last time…" The officer spoke in a low and fearful voice.  
"Aomine-kun," The Shadow started, tightening his own grip around the taller one's hand, "My existence in your life has no more value."  
"You may think that but you've done a lot for me—more than you'll ever know." Aomine spoke words that he thought he'd never say in this lifetime of twenty-five years. Kuroko smiled genuinely with his eyes closed. He then heard a _snap_, causing him to flutter his eyes back open.

"Eh..? Aomine-kun…?" Kuroko spoke absentmindedly as he was faced with a phone right near his face.  
"Sorry… I just had to capture that smile." Aomine innocently said, flashing the image at Kuroko before putting his phone into his back pocket.  
"Is my smile worth capturing?" Kuroko asked, laughing breathlessly at how strangely cute Aomine sounded.  
"_Everything_ about you is worth capturing, c'mon Tetsu. What are you even saying?" Aomine joked, nudging him playfully.

黒子のバスケ © 藤巻 忠俊  
Kuroko No Basuke

**I don't even LIKE this story anymore. It used to seem cool in my head, but now I just… Wait, why am I updating this? Huh? I'm writing another chapter as you read this? Nooooo~ Someone stop me and burn this story already, gosh. **


	10. X

**Afterlife**

Kuroko sighed in relief as the final apology and informative letter was sealed. He placed the envelope against the pile of other letters before stretching his arms out. Yawning, his eyes glanced over to the digital clock upon his desk which read _6:04 _PM. Rising to his feet; he smiled at Nigou who looked at him with such anticipation. With his tail wagging and his slight barks, Kuroko nodded as he walked towards the bathroom.  
"Time to get ready." The shadow announced, removing his shirt in the process of entering his destination. Nigou followed his master before halting at the front of the door. Kuroko couldn't care less if Nigou saw his bare self as he stripped himself of the rest his clothes before stepping into the shower.

He turned the cold and hot taps on in sync; adjusting the temperature until it just suited his body. It has approximately been two weeks since the incident at the pre-school and as the Friday night settled in, a certain gathering was being hosted around 7:30 PM. Kuroko, his Teikou Middle friends as well as his ones from Seirin, with the exception of Alex and such were all invited for a catch up, suggested by none other than Kise Ryouta. The unexpected meeting in the hospital two weeks back had gave the blond an idea to get everyone back together under better circumstances instead of unfortunate ones. After a couple minutes of _when was the right time for you_, they've all somehow managed to get a time and a date set up, no matter how reluctant all seemed.

Kuroko's mind entered into a deep routed thought of the events that had occurred over the past month. He never had expected that after all these years; their lives would be tied into each other somehow, someway whether it is by mere coincidence as his encounter with Murisakibara and Kise was or bounded by fate like what happened with Hyuga and Alex. Somewhere deep in his mind, he had been weary of meeting _any_ of them once his high school life ended because a part of him was afraid of change. It happened before when Aomine abandoned him as his _light_ and it sure as hell wasn't a pleasant feeling to go on with. But then again, there was the other part of him that was glad things turned out the way they did, although he'd have to admit they could've been a lot less dangerous.

After he had freshened up and gotten dressed, it was about 6:50 PM. Kuroko had all he needed for the gathering as well as the address. It was the cafe that his sempai, Kiyoshi had worked in as suggested by Hyuga. It was bound to be a busy Friday night for the city-suburban area which was convenient as the cafe hid silently amongst the popular destinations such as bars and clubs. Kuroko had found himself in the kitchen, setting up a bowl of water and food for Nigou to snack on while he was out. He could've asked the landlady to take the canine into her apartment for a couple of hours but he did not want to disturb her after all the events surrounding him and his... friends.

"Be a good dog, okay?" Kuroko requested, setting the two separate bowls down onto the tiled, kitchen floor. Nigou barked in response and Kuroko smiled, ruffling a hand through the soft, scented fur. "I'll be back soon." He informed, receiving yet another bark from the mammal. Satisfied with Nigou's easy behaviour, Kuroko glanced at his wrist watch that finally marked 7 PM. He thought that it was a reasonable time to head off to his allocated destination, and if any, will try to take his time getting there.  
"Ja, I'll be off now." Kuroko stated as Nigou sat near the door in a gesture resembling a farewell. Kuroko closed and locked the door behind him before heading down the flight of stairs and into the foyer which then led to the outside area of his apartment. The cool but humid air brushed against his pale skin as he ventured forward through the star-lit streets.

死後の世界

"We're early."  
"Told you we should've just walked."

Two tall, well-built figures stood idly by the café they once set foot in. They stared at the closed entrance that even had a sign saying that it was closed as the busy city-suburban life carried on with much velocity. Kagami glanced at Aomine who returned the look before sighing.  
"There'll be traffic, you said." Kagami muttered, causing Aomine to roll his eyes, "We'll be late, you said. Like you're the one to be _so_ _damn punctual._"  
"What are you on about?" Aomine whined, "I'm always punctual." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.  
"Punctual?" Kagami spat out, shaking his head. "You, always? That is a colossal mass of bull." Kagami objected.  
"Oh yeah? Well, then. Name one time, _just_ one time where I haven't been punctual." Aomine challenged, narrowing his brows.  
"Are you sure just one? Cuz I can name _heaps!_ Like that time you were late for our first basketball match back in high school—"  
"Okay, that was different." Aomine quickly interrupted.  
"How?"  
"I was sleeping."

The two of the quarrelled for a good two minutes before being cut off by a new presence from behind them, "You lovers going in or what?" The two males turned around to see a tall blonde female in fairly showy clothes.  
"Alex," Kagami sighed out and in which she responded with an innocent smile, "Cool seeing you here."  
"I suppose." She casually replied, flipping her hair over one of her shoulders, "So are you in or out?"  
"That's what she said." Aomine mumbled causing Kagami to chuckle almost immediately.  
"You guys are so damn immature." She sighed, rolling her eyes and pushing passed them both.

She placed her hand against the front door of the café, feeling it move inwards. She then looked over her shoulder at the tall, childish males.  
"Didn't know it was opened…" Kagami muttered under his breath as Aomine seemed surprised.  
"Yeah, well…" Alex sighed out, "Come in when you've cooled that head of yours. And by cooled I mean when you guys are actually mature enough to enter the adult life." And with that, she went inside the café that was lighted inside. The curtains covering the large windows prevented the two from actually seeing that there were actually people inside already.

Kagami shrugged as Aomine spoke, "Well I guess twenty-five's an alright number to get into the groove of things."  
"You seriously did not just say that right?" Kagami questioned.  
"Let's go in now, kay?" Aomine ignored, walking towards the front door but soon halted as he felt that Kagami did not follow his pursuit, "What..?" he turned around to see Kagami stare off into the distance, "Oi, Taiga? What are you doing..?" Aomine followed Kagami's line of sight which led his eyes to a small, blue haired male.

"Tetsu?"

死後の世界

"This 'get-together-under-better-circumstances' party is now officially underway!" Kise announced as he stood shamelessly atop the bar as Kiyoshi shook his head whilst taking out glasses to hold beverages in.

Hyuga and Aida had just entered with their daughter, Asami as it was a family friendly get together. Cheers, light music and a warm atmosphere was what greeted the married couple as all the tables were pushed together to from a large table that everyone could fit in. After Hyuga, Aida and Asami entered, Alex locked the door so no customers who heard the noise inside would come in. The small café was filled with familiar faces from high school—the main cast as one would say. It was a very comfortable place to be in—all would just say _hey_ with no means of awkward air. Even Kuroko, who had barely kept in touch with his high school classmates, had it easy as he struck up a conversation with Kagami.

"Day care, huh?" Kagami commented, taking a sip out of his glass as Kuroko nodded.  
"It's fun. Children are very fun to teach, especially when they don't know things." The Shadow remarked, popping a chip in his mouth.  
"I probably couldn't handle all the kids. I mean, yeah they're cute and all, but I don't think I'm the type to be able to take care of them."  
"Well, you save lives so I don't see how not being able to take care of one would be much of a challenge for you." Kuroko said. Kagami nodded slightly.  
"I guess… But after you save their life, it's up to them to take care of themselves better." Kagami sighed as he began munching on peanuts, "I get what you're saying though. But I can't even take care of myself let alone another person." Kagami then let out a fake chuckle in which Kuroko caught on.

"I heard you're living with Aomine-kun." Kuroko started, "How is it?" He asked, genuinely curious.  
"It's tough. It's like… Living with yourself— talking to yourself." Kagami unknowingly confessed as his eyebrow twitched. Kuroko saw that and laughed.  
"I see. Who would've known you both would end up together." Kuroko commented innocently. Kagami choked a little on the peanuts he consumed.  
"No, Kuroko. We're not _together_." Kagami frantically said, punching his own chest. Kuroko naturally rubbed the red-head's back, "We just _live_ in the same place. For now. That's it. We're not—"  
"You're panicking, Kagami-kun." Kuroko pointed out as Kagami calmed down.  
"You say weird things." Kagami mumbled. The two then laughed.

The night soon dawned into the eleventh hour as almost everyone's mind became intoxicated with alcohol. Time really flew by from when it started till this point as the café was soon trashed with empty snack packets, serviettes, spilt drinks and crumbs. The booths on the side of the café were also filled with empty pizza boxes, soft drink cans and alcohol beverages. The atmosphere was stuffy and hot due to the use of lights and the body heat that everyone emitted to the point where people even removed a couple of layers of their clothing. Some had to even step outside for a breather—even if it was a warm night, it was still cooler outside than in.

Kuroko sat on top of a spare table booth with his legs crossed as Momoi accompanied him, with her feet on the booth's seat. She leaned on him slightly as Kuroko faced the crowd of people conversing with one another. The two of them had completely changed throughout the course of the night—Kuroko spoke quietly and formally to those who wanted to speak to him as Momoi shy-ed herself away from Kuroko but now they're talking casually. It may be the cause of the alcohol they both consumed or just the fact that the environment was one that replicated a _family. _

The pink head and the blue head shared a packet of snake lollies between them before they got to talking.

Momoi sighed, "I thought we would have all changed by now." Kuroko took a piece of lolly from the packet before chewing off the head.  
"What do you mean?" He then asked with his eyes glancing around. The less drunk people all sat on one booth, talking in what seemed like a sophisticated manner as the kouhais of the cast played with the food. Aomine and Kise had a battle on who can throw and catch food in their mouth the most as Kagami and Takao threw food at each other—Midorima, being the safe bystander he is stood well away from them. Alex just laughed at how serious the boys all looked. Akashi and Murisakibara did not end up coming to the get together as Akashi found no need to come whereas Murisakibara just wanted to follow the red head.

"I mean, sure we all have stable jobs and such… And one would think that we would all change because of those jobs… But looking at them all now… We're still the same." Momoi explained, reaching over to munch on a snake lolly.  
"It's the environment, I think that changes everything." Kuroko said, causing Momoi to heave herself off the Shadow and look at him.  
"What do you mean?" she asked with the snake lolly hanging out of her mouth.  
"I mean… No one's on duty—or on the job. Anything that happens outside this café is none of our fault—no one here is made accountable to anything that happens out there… Since middle school, everyone's been so focused on basketball that we really didn't have much time to have fun. I mean, _true_ fun. Since Aomine changed, and our team fell apart, _fun_ never really meant anything but victory. _Winning_ was our fun." Kuroko spoke lightly, facing her as Momoi couldn't help but find truth in his words. He continued, "Then we all officially parted ways when high school came. We all had our teams, we all had or differences. The only way we could push our beliefs that winning isn't everything was to win against each other, ironic as it seems. But it did seem to work. And when one of us generations lost, it was only then did we all truly had fun, even if it did hurt to lose."

"Well put, Kurokocchi~" A voice coming from Kuroko's right side spoke. Both Kuroko and Momoi turned to look at him.  
"Eh? When did you get here?" Momoi asked, surprised. Kise leaned over the seats from the adjacent booth he was in.  
"Just a moment ago," He said, "When you guys are done with your deep and meaningful convo, we should play a game." Kise informed.  
"What kind of game did you have in mind?" Kuroko asked for the sake of asking. The blond smirked before standing up on the chair booth.

"Everybody!" He called out, clapping his hands before flailing them around, "Hey everybody!" He called out again to hush the crowd. When all eyes were on him, he cleared his throat and spoke up, "Hey, let's play spin the bottle!"

死後の世界

Silence filled the air as a certain red head circled the table with the tip of his finger. He sat with a bored expression on the dining table as the only light in the place came from the kitchen which was occupied by a larger male. His elbow rested against the table as his other hand continued to circle the table, causing finger marks to emerge. He then let out a small yawn which was caught by the larger male.

The two of them were currently at Murisakibara's one bedroom apartment. Akashi took it upon himself to invite himself in in which Murisakibara had no objection to. After the many mails, text messages and calls they got from Kise, they finally had a peaceful night after a long period of pestering from the blond. Murisakibara wasn't sure why Akashi didn't want to head over to the get-together-under-better-circumstances (whatever that meant; both Murisakibara and Akashi had no idea what the blond meant by that) but he did not dare ask. He just went with whatever the red head wanted, even after years out of high school.

"Akachin…" Murisakibara called out but it did not catch the attention of the said male. The response he did get though from the red head as a light _tsk_. He wasn't sure if it was in annoyance or something which made the taller male worried. Akashi sighed, glancing quickly at Murisakibara before wrapping his arms around his head and laying it atop the table. He seemed really tired which sparked a strange interest in Murisakibara. Wiping his hands on his pants, Murisakibara brought over the homemade sushi he had prepared for the red head before setting it on the table near Akashi's head. Murisakibara then took a seat next to him, tapping his shoulder lightly.

"Akachin… I made something for you to eat." He informed but again received no response. With his mouth twitching to the side, Murisakibara continued to tap Akashi's shoulder before moving onto shaking the male lightly. He then heard a groan.  
"What do you want, Atsushi?" Akashi asked, not lifting his head to speak.  
"You should eat something." He said, showing concern for the younger male's health.  
"What is it?" Akashi asked.  
"Why don't you take a look?"

Sighing, the red head decided to lift his head. He looked at the plate of somewhat appetizing sushi before looking at the male who prepared it, "So you _can_ make other things apart from pastry delicacies." Akashi smirked and let out a small chuckle causing Murisakibara to raise a brow.  
"Of course—it's simple." Murisakibara replied, pushing the dish closer towards Akashi.

The red head stared at the dish for an uncomfortably long time before looking back at Murisakibara. His lips them parted to speak, "Feed me." Murisakibara looked at Akashi in disbelief of what he had just heard before Akashi raised a brow as if to confirm what he said was true.  
"Are you incapable of feeding yourself after six pm?" Murisakibara asked boldly. He usually would've just done so, but it was late and he, like most, had no energy to bother obliging to other's request so fast.  
"Just do it." Akashi sighed, opening his mouth a little—exposing his perfect teeth and pink tongue.

Rolling his eyes, Murisakibara picked up a bite size sushi between his pointer finger and thumb before navigating the piece of food towards Akashi's mouth. Suddenly, the red head closed his mouth and grasped the hand that the sushi was held in before pulling Murisakibara forward with immense strength. The sushi fell onto the table as Akashi smashed his lips against Murisakibara's. The taller male was shocked but did not show any signs of rejecting the kiss. It was soon broken though after what seemed like hours as Akashi licked his lips.

"You're right," the red head began, "I should eat something… but not that."

黒子のバスケ © 藤巻 忠俊  
Kuroko No Basuke

**KINKY AKASHI IS A SEXY AKASHI? Wow, I lied. I still take forever to update. (Referring to AN in chapter 8) Here's my early Christmas present to all those who were waiting for an update. Lol, this update is so stupid. I did not read over so message me if something doesn't make any sense. **


	11. XI

**Afterlife**

The night had exceeded into something no one had expected. This was meant to be something of a get together type of party where everyone caught up and exchanged stories of what happened after high school. Yet somehow it morphed into a teenage, drunken scene. The cause could be that they never really did have many parties during the best years of their life as it was heavily consumed with basketball but now that that's all over, their minds and personalities reverted into ones that they should have during high school.

The tables that were all pushed together to form one big one were now cleared off to the side of the café, stacked upon each other as all those who attended the party sat in one, large circle on the floor. There were only three participating females (since Asami wasn't eligible to play) but none of that mattered. Everyone was out of their conscious mind to even care if they suck face with the same sex.

An empty glass bottle of alcohol was set in the middle of the circle as they all sat in close. Kise's proposal for spin the bottle sure did spark up curiosity in everyone to make decisions that they'd probably end up regretting in the morning, but that was the fun part of it. They decided to start simple with the game; just spin the bottle and whoever it lands on, you kiss them. And after a few rounds of that, they'd changed it into truth or dare. But for now, it was spin and kiss. Kiyoshi had a two bottles of strong, untouched alcohol beverages behind the counter in which he had distributed around the circle, alongside a shot glass in case anyone needed an excuse such as '_I'm drunk, so kissing him is me being a drunkard!'_ and such. Everyone liked that excuse and without further ado, the game begun.

"Who's gonna spin first?" Kise asked, grabbing the empty bottle in the middle of the circle and swaying it lightly around.  
"Well Kise-kun, you suggested the game so you should start." Kuroko spoke out, causing everyone else to murmur and nod in agreement.  
"Eh~? Kurokocchi…" Kise glanced over at the Shadow who simply shrugged. Sighing, the blond decided to go first, "Fine! Fine… Someone's gotta start." Kise said as he went on all fours so that his body was almost in the centre without necessarily moving completely away from his spot in the circle.

Everyone rooted for and clapped in encouragement for Kise being the first contender of this game. He spun the bottle fast and skilfully, returning his butt back onto the floor. He, as well as the rest anticipated on who it would land on first. Everyone's voice rose in excitement as the bottle slowly came to a halt. The bottle then stopped as the neck of it pointed directly at Kise's sempai, Kasamatsu. Whoops and cheers roared through the café as Kasamatsu grabbed a hold of his shot glass and filled it with alcohol. He soon skulled it; a blush appearing on his cheeks signalling his drunkenness.

"Sempai!" Kise cheerfully said as he shuffled over to where Kasamatsu was with his knees. His arms were spread out as he had a goofy look on his face.  
"Kise." Kasamatsu sighed out with a smile. He had to smile purely because of the blonde's facial expression. The blond did not take a second to hesitate as his lips pressed against Kasamatsu's. Everyone gasped at how quick Kise was to complete the kiss before breaking out into more cheering and sheer amazement that they actually did it.

After Kise parted and returned back to his seat, he then nominated Aomine to spin the bottle.

"C'mon Aominecchi!" Kise said as he shoved the bottle into the tanned male's hand. With a deep sigh, the officer took the bottle and spun it in the middle with no signs of hesitation. He wore a look that said, '_I'll make anyone I kiss heart melt_.' And it was somewhat believable. It spun steadily in the same spot as he drank his shot of alcohol before the bottle even landed on anyone. All eyes watched the bottle until it finally stopped on… Momoi.

Her facial expression changed from excitement into shock as all eyes were on her. She froze for no longer than a second before looking up towards Aomine who sat right besides her, wearing the same face she did.

"Oh~! Childhood friends hookin' up, I see." Kise commented, rousing a lot of encouraging noises. Momoi removed her gaze at the bottle that pointed clearly at her, changing it to look at Kise. She rose up onto her knees before pointing at the blond who was three people away from her on her right.  
"That's just it! We're childhood friends!" She screeched, "I—I can't kiss him! He's like a brother to me!" She announced; snickers all around.  
"Wow, gee thanks, Satsuki. Way to put me deep into the friendzone." Aomine muttered, causing those snickers to morph into laughter.

Momoi turned her head to look at Aomine before playfully hitting him on the shoulder, "What's that supposed to mean?"  
"I think it means he saw you more than just a friend." Midorima commented, surprising everyone with words no one knew he could say, "Even if you pined over Kuroko during our Teikou years…" He also quietly added; Takao being the only hearing that.  
"Dai-chan… Is that true?" Momoi asked in a quiet tone. Aomine looked at her briefly and shrugged, averting his sight elsewhere as he did so.  
"It's not like I haven't thought about it…" The tanned male confessed, scratching the back of his head.

"We're just playing a game! Kiss her already!" A voice suddenly called out.

Taking a deep sigh, Aomine nodded his head before leaning in close towards Momoi; that simple notion getting the spectators excited. The officer caught a glimpse of the light blush that spread across her cheeks. He stopped moving forward at that sight before his eyes spoke words that his mouth couldn't; '_can I_?' Momoi saw that and nodded, understanding his gesture. Without a second thought, his lips pressed against hers as his hand palmed her cheek.

Everyone's feet and fingers curled up at the scene; Takao grabbed a hold of Midorima's arm as the Fate Follower looked to the side; Alex unknowingly wrapped both her arms around the big figure that is Kiyoshi. Everyone had to hold onto someone as no one really expected this—it was their kind of way of _screaming_ without actually making any noise. They were all excited like twelve year olds when they witnessed someone confessing to another.

Eventually the kiss came to a stop as Aomine was the first the part his lips off hers. Everyone's hands clapped together as if it was something to be happy about. Momoi placed the palms of her hands on her burning cheeks as Aomine's lips curled into an innocent smile.

"Oi! What's with that?" Kagami soon pointed out, referring to Aomine's suspicious look, "Don't act like you've never kissed her before."  
"I never have!" Aomine defended, rising up on his knees. Kagami did the same as if to show who the bigger man between the two is.  
"Okay, okay," Alex began, rising to her knees. She spread her arms out, trying to prevent the two from starting a fight, "Let's play friendly boys." She was one person away from them both as they glared at each other immaturely. Everyone else shook their heads at how similar and immature they were.

"Dai-chan," Momoi began, "Choose the next person to spin." She instructed. Tsking, both Aomine and Kagami sat back down as they had a game to continue. Alex then eased back down, satisfied that they won't start some sort of drunken fight, even if it was playful looking.

"Fine, I choose…" Aomine's eyes threateningly looked over at Kagami's direction, but he smirked and said, "Tetsu."

Everyone 'oo-ed' in anticipation as the officer looked pass Momoi and onto Kuroko who sat next to her. He passed the bottled over to Kuroko who looked at it with curiosity. He then heaved himself off his butt as he landed on all fours. He then spun the bottle—but very poorly. Just as Kuroko went to go sit back down, the bottle had already stopped—stopping directly at Kagami.

"Oi, Tetsu! Don't get too comfortable." Aomine snickered, grabbing Kuroko's arm pass Momoi and tugging him forward.  
"Ah… It already stopped," Kuroko sighed, annoyed that he'd have to get up already right after he just sat back down, "And on Kagami-kun, no less."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" The red head snapped even though he wasn't entirely sure why. Kuroko just shrugged and stood up onto his knees. Everyone had been doing that since no one was really bothered to get up onto their feet—plus the circle wasn't big enough to the point where people had to walk.

Kagami sat in between Kiyoshi and Takao with his legs crossed as his filled up shot glass was by his feet. Kuroko did not skull his own as he advanced closer towards Kagami. The Shadow's face was flushed pink and everyone could tell he was a little tipsy. It was quite a scene, actually. Just as Kuroko closed the space between himself and Kagami, he somehow slipped forward, falling face forward into the red head's lap. Everyone shouted in drunken excitement.

"He wants you, Kagami!"  
"Keep it PG rated, boys!"  
"Take him out to dinner first!"

Kagami held onto Kuroko's arm to pull him up as Kuroko placed his palm on Kagami's knee to push himself up.  
"Are you alright?" Kagami then asked with concern on his face. Kuroko looked into his orbs with a flushed expression.  
"Let's get this done and over with, shall we Kagami-kun?" Kuroko ended that sentence with a cheeky smile as his words reached everyone's ears.

"Kuroko didn't even drink his shot!" Someone pointed out. Murmurs and squeals soon followed.

Upon hearing that, Kuroko grab a hold of Kagami's full shot and sipped the entire beverage into his mouth before pressing his lips against Kagami's with no signs of hesitation; alcohol still pooling at the bottom of his cavern. No mouth was left closed as spasms all around the room from each spectator were ensued. The straight forwardness that Kuroko had had caught everyone off guard, thus exciting them more.

Kuroko somehow forced Kagami's lips to open up for him resulting him in transferring some of the alcohol into the red head's system. Kagami was surprised as he had expected the Shadow to have already swallowed it by now. Some of the liquid slipped down Kagami's lips which did not go unnoticed by the spectators who saw the kiss at an angle, causing more uproar than before.

Almost everyone's mind had entered into childish mode at this point in the get-together-under-better-circumstances party but no one was mature enough to care. They all giggled, laughed, snickered and such at every little intimate thing that a sober person could find quite amusing as much as the net person would.

The duration of their kiss dragged on longer than the normal 4 second kisses that the previous two had but it wasn't long enough for other's to notice. The alcohol had now been swallowed by the two as their lips massaged against each other. They weren't virgins of kisses but they were surprised at how experienced the other was. Or it could be the alcohol that's taken over their movements. Either way, it felt _good. _

Kagami's eyes were kept open but they could not stand staring straight at Kuroko, so they wandered elsewhere. But as they wandered, they ended up in the direction of _Aomine_. He wasn't sure why nor did he have the current state of mind to think of a reason but his eyes just did.

Suddenly though, Aomine's eyes locked onto the red head's by pure accidence or coincidence for a split second. Kagami felt a little panicky without reason to be, averting his gaze back at Kuroko before deciding to break away from the kiss. A round of applause was then erupted from the spectators followed by strange comments.

"The Light and Shadow _finally_ became one!"  
"High school sweet~ hearts!"  
"They're so cute together~"

Those comments though did not enter Kagami's mind though. Instead he thought _'what the hell was that look, Daiki?'_. Even though their eyes met for just a moment, he was certain that the officer looked somewhat… hurt? '_Is it because I kissed Kuroko? Or is it because he wanted to…'_

A sudden flash back memory of the day that he and Aomine drove to work around two weeks back came into his mind. He remembered how close their lips were—how their breath mixed into each other's and how neither backed off until a startling noise from the outside world snapped them back into reality.

'_Is he jealous?'_ Kagami thought thoughts that he never would've. But he also knew that they were too farfetched to be true. '_Pff, naw. I'm getting to ahead of myself.' _The red head soon concluded, somewhat satisfied with that mental statement.

The sudden sound of Kuroko hiccupping caused Kagami to change his attention from his mind to the Shadow in front. He blankly looked at the flustered Kuroko as he hiccupped once more, causing laughter and giggles as he does so.  
"S-so… Who're you going to choose?" Kagami asked which made Kuroko distance himself back a bit from Kagami's personal space.  
Kuroko smiled and looked at the person besides Kagami on his right before speaking, "Kiyoshi-sempai~"

Kuroko's voice strangely slurred as he shoved the bottle into Kiyoshi's lap. Everyone seemed satisfied with the Shadow's choice; Kiyoshi stared at the bottle in his lap and picked it up just as Kuroko returned back to his spot in the circle.

"Ah, I think I should go." Suddenly, Aida spoke out. All of their attention went off to her.  
"Eh~? Why?" Momoi asked out suddenly. Aida then cocked her head to where Hyuga was which was just right beside her. He held a sleeping Asami in his arms; Asami leaned her cheek against his chest.

"Yeah, I think we both should head off." Hyuga spoke out; shaking Asami a just slightly to show other's their reason for departing.  
"Wow, who would've known the clutch shooter would be a clutch father." Kiyoshi commented, even if it did give him a wave of pain through his system. He had already poured his heart out to both Kagami and Aomine one drunken night, telling them his undying love for Hyuga but he sure as hell wasn't prepared to do it again so to give himself a peace of mind, he decided to say words that would throw someone other than the officer and fighter off his trail, but he could've just said nothing at all. Either way, Kiyoshi had confidence that the two Aces wouldn't out him, but that also left fear that he might himself.

"Ah, no. Junpei, you can stay here. I'll take Asami over to Papa." Aida said, stumbling up to her feet, referring to her father. She then bent over to grab Asami out of her husband's arms.

"Eh? No, I'll come with—"  
"It's fine. Enjoy yourself."

With a final chaste kiss goodbye, Aida left the café with Asami. Hyuga sat there confused at how lenient she was.

The night continued on with the spin the bottle game. Before Aida left, it was Kiyoshi's turn to spin. He did so and it just so happen to land on the man he loved—Hyuga. Both Aomine and Kagami exchanged knowing looks from across the circle as they couldn't help but feel a bit… happy for him? After that, it was Alex and Himuro. People shouted out comments such as '_taboo'_ and '_teacher student relations!'_ but all in a joking matter. Then it came down to the two final people who haven't smacked lips together the entire night—Midorima and Takao. The Fate Follower was extremely reluctant but Takao let slip that they've already kissed and another one wouldn't hurt. The others obviously caused uproar at that information, making Midorima very red-faced. They ended up kissing though to satisfy everyone else's eyes.

Time flew by as the night dawned into midnight. People were starting to get tired as they've been in the café for about five and a half hours now. But they still had another order of business to complete—truth or dare.

黒子のバスケ © 藤巻 忠俊  
Kuroko No Basuke

**Words of warning: this story will no longer be able to be found on the K-T page of the Kuroko no Basuke fan fiction page as the next chapter will contain mature, adult content resulting in me changing the rating to M. So only those who are already following this story will be able to find it, unless (new) readers change the search rating to M. It now is currently shown in the K-T rating page, but once the next chapter is posted, it will be shown in the M rating page. **

**A **_**lot **_**of intimacy (and smut?) next chapter, plus more arising complications ahead. I've already finalized the pairings for the story but you won't know who ends up with who until the final chapter(?). Some couples are already hinted from the start, others—not so much. Please prepare for the plot twist(s) in the future!**

**LONGEST. CHAPTER. EVER. **


	12. XII

**Afterlife **

A trail of discarded and unwanted clothing left a scattered trail alongside the hallway floor. It had lead from the kitchen and into Murasakibara's bedroom. The door was left wide open since neither Akashi or Murasakibara were bothered closing it as their hands and mouths were all over each other in somewhat desperate need for the other's warmth and touch. The height difference proved to be quite a challenge as the red head had to strain himself to have a taste of Murasakibara's lips. But the taller male ended up carrying the Emperor after they both were stripped down to their boxer and brief.

Things between the two had developed quickly that night but it wasn't the first time they've done such acts. No, in fact all of this had started almost right before high school ended. Murasakibara, even when in Yosen, had always stuck by the short captain to the point where something as kisses, touches and even sex came naturally to the two. But what they had wasn't love. It could have been identified as them being _lonely_—them being _friends with benefits_. But complained nor questioned their relationship as they themselves did not know what to call _this_. It wasn't necessarily labelled as sex friends since they decided to leave this untitled. For now, at least.

It has been untitled for seven years already and it probably will stay that way.

Murasakibara, with Akashi in his arms, had the back of his legs pressed up against the front edge of his bed. The Chef had his forearms below Akashi's ass, supporting him up from underneath as the Captain planted sweet kisses against his lips, cheeks, jawline and neck. Akashi was surprisingly gentle in bed which can somehow clash with his daring and powerful personality in society. Murasakibara was the first and probably last person to even see this side of Akashi and that alone gave him a settling content feeling inside.

The Chef skilfully settled himself backwards onto the bed with Akashi on his lap, facing him—bare chest to bare chest. The taller male had his back against the nicely polished wooden backboard of the bed as Akashi had his fingers tangled in Murasakibara's flowing hair. It was already a heated night and Akashi had a burning desire for the Chef. But the red head strongly disliked feeling uncomfortable and Murasakibara knew that. That was the reason why both of their movements were now slow and steady—not too fast paced and extreme like they were a few moments earlier.

Their relationship developed into one where no words had to be spoken to know what the other was thinking.

Though Akashi knew that if they were to venture any more than just a simple make out session, he'd eventually have to come to terms with overwhelming heat—that is if Murasakibara takes over and in this case, that seems quite unlikely. The Chef knew this but that didn't seem to bother him. He actually enjoyed it when Akashi took the initiative to get things started since he did find it quite… bothersome. And Murasakibara was always the lazy type. Sometimes…

The red head rose to his knees that now dug into the bed sheets on either side of Murasakibara's thighs. His hands travelled out of the Chef's hair and onto his finely defined muscles that he still had managed to maintain even seven years out of high school. Akashi's fingertips traced Murasakibara's abdomen as his lips kissed his forehead, the corner of his eye and his cheek very softly. The palms that belonged to Murasakibara lingered lightly around Akashi's waist before he caressed the back of his thighs.

"What a change of pace." Murasakibara commented, breaking the silence between the two. Akashi's lips left the Chef's face before curling into a smile.  
"Well, you don't have a fan in here." The red head replied, combing Murasakibara's hair away from his face.  
"I could open the window." The Chef suggested, looking over at the large window that looked out into the city. Akashi followed the taller male's line of sight before looking back at him in disapproval. Murasakibara's eyes soon met Akashi's once more and he knew that his suggestion has been shut down, "Ah… Could it be that Akachin doesn't want anyone else hearing him cry out?"

Akashi tsked, sitting himself back down onto Murasakibara's lap before parting his lips, "You're ruining the mood, Atsushi." Murasakibara laughed lightly before tucking a lock of Akashi's hair behind his ear.  
"Sorry," he apologised, giving a soft look.

The red head sighed, shaking his head lightly. After that final word, no words were said between the two for now as Akashi slid himself off Murasakibara's lap. He manoeuvred himself in between the taller male's legs, lying on his stomach with his forearms leaning on Murasakibara's thighs. His fingertips skilfully unbuttoned the buttons on Murasakibara's boxers before pulling out the growing member.

Akashi pressed his lips against the head of Murasakibara's cock, planting small kisses before running his tongue against it. He licked and lapped the nicely coloured head—his fingertips stroking the hardening shaft. He then widened his mouth, taking as much of the throbbing member he can into his wet cavern. He sucked softly, savouring the taste of the taller male as he caressed and pumped the base and shaft of his cock. Murasakibara let out a sweet sigh as the sight of Akashi's head bobbing up and down was quite a scene he could never get used to in this lifetime.

The Chef snaked his long fingers into the short, red locks of Akashi's hair with his eyes gazing at his lips moving alongside his cock. Murasakibara felt the pits of his stomach burning up with every single movement Akashi did but it still was not enough for him. He wanted more—he needed more. But he knew that asking for it wouldn't get him anywhere, so he decided to provoke the younger male.

"After all this time, you still can't take the whole thing in." The Chef spoke out, ending that sentence with a smirk. He immediately felt Akashi's teeth graze at the tender skin, causing him to wince, "Just saying…" Murasakibara mumbled. Akashi growled from the back of his throat, removing Murasakibara's cock out from his lips, making a _pop_ sound. A trail of his saliva mixed with Murasakibara's pre-cum connected the head of the Chef's cock and his lips as the red head emitted a somewhat erotic aura.

Akashi looked up at Murasakibara with his alluring hetero-chromatic eyes before wiping the trail of liquid away, "Stop complaining, Atsushi. It's not my fault."  
"Ah-rah-rah?" Murasakibara cocked his head to the side, a smile prying onto his lips, "Are you suggesting that I'm _too_ big for those lips of yours?" The Chef's thumb ran along Akashi's bottom lips before he held onto Akashi's chin, tilting it more upwards. He saw the red head clench his teeth before slapping his hand away.

The younger male then rose back up, climbing back onto Murasakibara's thighs; knees digging back into the bed before speaking, "You talk too much."

With that, he slipped out of his briefs, tossing the unwanted garment onto the cold, hard floor. He repositioned himself over Murasakibara's erection; the head of his cock pressing against Akashi's entrance. The red head had a hand atop Murasakibara's shoulder as the other hand held onto the Chef's shaft as if to keep it in place. Murasakibara swallowed lightly as he felt Akashi's fingers stroke his cock, spreading the saliva and pre-cum over the entire shaft. Murasakibara knew that Akashi was doing but decided that it was probably not the best solution to use that sort of liquid as lubrication.

"Akachin, I have a bottle in the drawer—"

Akashi did not listen as he suddenly lowered himself down onto the erection—the head of the cock surprisingly entering inside, soon followed by half of the Chef's length. The hand that held onto Murasakibara's shoulder clenched tightly as Akashi looked to the side, hissing lightly. Murasakibara was fairly speechless but it wasn't like he had anything to say. He was just simply amazed at how, without much preparation, it would go inside so easily.

"Akachin, could it be that you…"  
"Shut up, Atsushi."

The response that Murasakibara got for his un-finished sentence made it clear that he wasn't the one that 'needed more', but in fact it was Akashi. Akashi needed more—wanted more. And his abrupt little display of desperateness was more than enough for Murasakibara to comply and _aid_ the younger one.

_Cute…_ Murasakibara thought as he clasped a hand at the back of Akashi's head, pulling him closer to plant a kiss on his cheek. He felt how heated the red head's face was as the said male constricted his arms around Murasakibara's skull tightly. It wasn't before long that Akashi began to move; he lifted himself up before cautiously moving back down on Murasakibara's length, suppressing a moan with every thrust.

His movements were slow since he still needed to adjust himself but they did not gradually speed up. Akashi was struggling though he refused to say a thing as he hid his face in the nook of Murasakibara's neck. Murasakibara could hear the light pants brush against his ear as his hands placed themselves against Akashi's back, feeling the slight sweat trickle down his spine.

Akashi found no pleasure in his movements and he pondered why. It caused him to work harder to achieve the pleasure he yearned for but his knees grew tired and sore with every sluggish rise and fall. His entrance stung as his teeth threatened to crush and shatter inside his mouth but he refused to stop now. He was in the uncomfortable heat and he needed release but he was the type to not say a thing since he usually took it upon himself to do things himself. In a way, he disliked being dependent on someone else but more than that, he disliked acknowledging that he _had_ to depend on someone else.

"Akachin, are you okay?" Murasakibara whispered lightly, combing his fingers up through the said male's hair.  
"Don't talk…" Akashi harshly replied, sounding almost breathless. Murasakibara complied but was still concerned. He knew how desperate Akashi was to the point where he felt… pity? With a light, inaudible sigh, Murasakibara thought it was time to turn the tides. In one swift movement, he pushed Akashi down onto the bed—the red head's back against the sheets. Akashi's hetero-chromatic eyes widened in surprise before his lips opened in protest.

"What do you think you're doing, Atsushi?" He questioned; his nails digging into Murasakibara's shoulders.  
"It's your turn to not talk, Akachin…" The Chef murmured softly in Akashi's ear before removing himself out of the smaller male. Akashi let out a groan of distress before Murasakibara moved over him to get the bottle of lube that lied lonely inside the drawer. His body returned soon after to hovering over Akashi before a light _pop_ noise surfaced. Akashi's brows narrowed as he watched the sticky substance exit the tube and onto Murasakibara's palm.

"You're putting way too much, Atsushi." Akashi warned.  
"It will make us feel good, I promise." He sighed, soon drenching his long fingers in it.

死後の世界

The final round of '_spin and kiss'_ had finished after Midorima and Takao's lips parted. Everyone had kissed which left a somewhat satisfying feeling in the pits of their stomachs—well at least _most_ of them. Now the game had changed into '_truth or dare'_. It was as simple as the spin and kiss game yet it held just a bit more rules such as having an _unbearable_ fate if one were to refuse to complete a dare or not answer a truth. The _unbearable fate_ was quite childish but nonetheless, horrible. There were still left over snacks and drinks so if someone refused to do something, the rest can concoct an abomination of strange flavours for that person to either chomp on or drink down.

After about five to seven minutes of getting some fresh air, good yawns and stretches, the remaining people gathered all the left over, un-eaten snacks and un-drunk drinks, placing it in the middle of the circle they comfortably created. The order in which they sat in had changed from earlier—starting from Kasamatsu and onto the left was Himuro then the following: Aomine, Kuroko, Midorima, Kiyoshi, Alex, Kise, Momoi, Takao, and Kagami— coming around full circle with Hyuga closing the circle.

As well as the food (that had been casted off to one side of the circle), the glass bottle also lied in the middle with enough clear space for it to spin easily. Alex has offered to spin the bottle for the entire duration of the game and with that, the game begun.

The bottle spun fast and steadily in the middle of the circle, signalling the start of the game. As earlier, all eyes watched it spin, wondering who would it stop at. This somehow was more nerve wracking than the 'spin and kiss' game as everyone had an unconscious fear of what the truth or dare might be if they're chosen. But it probably wouldn't be as bad as people depict it to be.

A few seconds had gone by and finally the bottle slowly began to come to a halt. The first victim of this new game was- Midorima. He let out a loud sigh; removing his glasses and pressing his pointer finger and thumb against his eyes in frustration. Light laughs filled the room at Midorima's distressed reaction.

"Truth or dare, Shin-chan?" Takao asked, giving him a sly look from across the circle. Midorima sighed, putting his glasses back on.  
"This game is idiotic." The Fate Follower commented, tsking lightly. Groans followed afterwards.  
"Just pick, Megane!" Alex snapped jokingly, pointing at Midorima as she spoke. Midorima's jaw slightly dropped.  
"Oi! You're wearing glasses too!" He then retorted as if he popped a vain. Both Kuroko and Kiyoshi placed a hand on his shoulders in attempts to calm him down.

A moment had passed and Midorima then decided to choose, "Fine, whatever! I pick dare so someone can dare me to slap Kise."  
"Eh~," Kise looked at Midorima with his shoulders slumped over, "Why me, Midorimacchi?" The blond asked, seeing his words as unfair.  
"Because you suggested we play this childish game." Midorima muttered. Kise pouted like an abandoned puppy.

"_I dare you_," Alex soon cut in with her voice exaggeratedly rising with every word she spoke, "To remove your shirt seductively in front of the person that is twenty spots away from you to your right!" She finished, clasping her hands together as everyone else nodded in approval.  
"I absolutely refuse—"

As if on cue, both Aomine and Kuroko rose to their knees and reached for the snacks, preparing Midorima's _unbearable fate._ The had already set up a shot glass that had a bit of alcohol in it as Aomine crunched up some chips whilst Kuroko tore apart a single, pink marshmallow. Midorima looked at the two in sheer horror as everyone else laughed in utter enjoyment. The two of them had some sort of sinister look upon their faces as they shoved more alcohol into the shot glass, followed by barbecue sauce. The shot glass filled alarmingly filled up fast as it seemed that those two still had more to put in.

"F-F-Fine!" Midorima grabbed a hold of Kuroko's arm, preventing him from shoving in anything else, "I'll do it…"

Midorima's happiness slipped away as he let out a heavy sigh. Starting from Kuroko and going anti-clockwise, each person counted until the twentieth number had been said since Alex specified that the Fate Follower should strip in front of the person who was twenty spot away from him (even if there were only twelve participants). And as the numbers being said drew closer to the specified one, Midorima's heart dropped. The person he had to 'seductively' remove his shirt off in front of was none other than Miss Satsuki Momoi.

Everyone burst out in laughter at this—Momoi had her face buried against Kise's arm as Midorima glared at Alex pass Kiyoshi who divided the two. He was way too embarrassed to be doing this which was quite the sight. But he preferred doing the dare instead of possibly being force fed that abomination that both Aomine and Kuroko created.

He rose to his feet, deciding to get this over and done with. In less than three steps, he stood in front of Momoi with every singly pair of eyes on him. Momoi still had her face buried in the blonde's arm but felt Midorima's presence, causing her to look at the doctor. He stood with a blank expression—his arms crossed over as his taped fingers lingered at the bottom of his shirt.

Everyone waited in anticipation at the body Midorima still or may not have after all these years. Everyone was curious if Midorima still looked fit or if he let himself go after high school ended. It would be a big surprise either way—a surprise that would need explaining afterwards.

In a flash, Midorima removed his shirt off in the most normal way possible.

"Hey!" Alex shouted, "That wasn't sexy!" She said, dissatisfied with how he took off his shirt. But that was the least on people's minds.  
"… But his body isn't." Kise innocently commented, his eyes wide, "Damn, Midorimacchi…"  
"Well…" Momoi's voice squeaked as they all stared at Midorima's chest. He was built—and built well, "This is…"  
"You know, for a doctor, you sure are fit." Alex commented, leaning against Kiyoshi.  
"Are we done? Is this over?" Midorima asked, putting his shirt back over his head.

"On Shin-Chan's rare day offs, he does intensive training!" Takao loudly whispered as the said male sat back down.  
"Well, he must've to maintain that kind of body." Momoi said, nodding in approval before turning to Aomine, across the circle, "How's your body?"  
"Why are you asking that all of a sudden!?" Aomine asked, caught off guard.  
"I'm also curious, Aomine-kun." Kuroko quietly but loud enough for everyone to hear, spoke out.  
"Oi… Tetsu—what's with you?" Aomine squinted his eyes, looking at his former Shadow.  
"Well, we're speaking on the topic of bodies as Midorima-kun—"

"Why don't you ask Kagami? He should know." Midorima announced, causing all eyes to divert towards Kagami.  
"Hey, don't make this about me!" The red head retorted.  
"Taiga… Would you know?" Alex quietly and carefully asked. Kagami looked at all the eyes that were on him before sighing.  
"Let's just play, okay?"

黒子のバスケ © 藤巻 忠俊  
Kuroko No Basuke

**Hi here's an update that no one will read ever wow sorry guys. Is this PWP? I feel dirty ha, I'm dead now bye. Ok the reason I'm not updating in forever is because wow this story makes me cringe and ugh it's so embarrassing re-reading the earlier chapters like hey what was I thinking I was probably drunk when I wrote that. I cannot stress how much I hate this story but yeah before I went on dead-hiatus I already wrote 99.9% of this chapter so yeah here have some half-assed chapter and don't count on another chapter any time soon I need to redeem myself for another fifty years. **

**Sorry.**


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